Singer Songwriters
by BurtonFan23
Summary: Mr Schue wants Glee club to work on its songwriting this year so they can finally take home that national championship trophy, but first they'll need to study the pros and truly learn what it is to be a team. This songfic series centers around Brittana with several subplots. Rated M for later chapters. Please comment!
1. A Tough Pill To Swallow Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. The songs used in this chapter are Right through You, Head over Feet, Precious Illusions, So Pure, and Everything. They are the property of Alanis Morissette and Maverick Records. If you want to listen to them as you read, I've made some playlists available on my youtube channel to follow along with every chapter's songs (please check my profile for the link)! Enjoy ;)

**Synopsis:** It's the first week of senior year and the glee club is back and determined to win nationals! The new year shows promise of change. Santana's tired of the same old song and dance. She wants things to be different this year, to be better. Most importantly, this is her chance to start fresh with Brittany, and she is going to do everything to make it happen. Trouble in paradise for Finn and Rachel, although no-one seems to know why just yet. Meanwhile, Quinn has decided to turn over a new leaf and get her life back on track.

These two first chapters focus almost exclusively on Brittana. There will be some branching out with other characters as the story moves forward, but the main plot will always follow Brittany and Santana. Please review!

* * *

><p><strong>A Tough Pill to Swallow Part 1<strong>

"Ok guys! Now, last year, we had some success with writing original songs for competitions and I think it really helped to get everyone out of their shells! But, I think we need to kick it up a notch if we're gonna take Nationals this year," Will began enthusiastically, excitement buzzing through the room. "Before we just jump into it though, I want us to take a couple of weeks to study the work that some of our time's best singer songwriters have done. Now, I want you to learn everything you can from these artists and then apply these lessons to your own songwriting. I know we have the talent to win Nationals, guys, we just need to put everything we have into it and prepare early this year! So, to kick things off, we will be doing..."

Mr Schue turned around and headed towards the white board, sharpie in hand. As everyone observed attentively, he wrote two words in bright red. Gasps of excitement suddenly filled the room. Even the boys seemed pleased with the prospect.

"Alanis Morissette! Our songwriting is good, but it's a little too tight right now. We need to loosen up the rules a bit, right?" Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement. Santana's face, in particular, seemed to light up. "Alanis' songs are all about content! They're less concerned with things like rhyming and keeping to a strict format. It's all about taking those raw and deep emotions and putting them into song. You are free to either pair up or come up with a solo number, I'll leave that completely up to you. So, I want you all to go home, give a few of her songs a listen, and we'll start performances tomorrow!" he finished with a smile just as the bell rang.

The students slowly began to shuffle out of the choir room, caught up in discussions about their new assignment. Artie wheeled over to Brittany as she made her way into the hallway, a mixture of nervousness and excitement in his features.

"Hey Britt! Do you want to come over later and listen to some songs together?" Artie asked Brittany in a tone that he had meant to sound seductive but betrayed a lingering hope.

Right at that moment, Santana walked past Artie's chair on her way out of the choir room. His brows furrowed as he followed Brittany's gaze drifting to her best friend's eyes. Santana winked at Brittany in passing. The blonde's cheeks reddened as her eyes shifted back to Artie.

"That's ok Artie," she answered softly, "I'm actually pretty sure I'm over-prepared for this already."

He looked down, visibly a little hurt by the rejection. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and brought his head back up to smile at her sweetly, unable to hide a hint of sadness in his eyes.

...

_"I see right throuuugh you! I know right through youuu! I feel right through youuuuuu! I walk right throuuuuugh you!" Santana sang, her eyes shut and her fists tightening in emotion. "Augh, I love this cd!"_

_Brittany looked up at her best friend, an amused smile on her face. Santana kept singing, as if unaware of the way Brittany's eyes observed her. This Santana was her favorite. The one, she suspected, she was the only one to know, that only showed herself within the safety of these walls. The blonde looked back down at Santana's toe nails, admiring her handiwork. She blew on the red nail polish a little bit before stretching her neck to try and see how her own nails had turned out. Santana had always been quicker at things than she had. Brittany liked to take her time, relishing in small details. She smiled when she caught a glimpse of glittery pink, purple and blue. Her toe nails almost looked like rainbows. _

_"You done?' Santana asked curiously. "Can I see?"_  
><em>"Yea, but it's not as pretty as what you did," Brittany said, still staring at her own nails.<em>  
><em>"Let me see," Santana insisted excitedly pulling one of her feet closer to examine it. All of her toe nails were now crimson red and a white heart was drawn onto her big toe's nail. She giggled a little and looked back up at the blonde, smiling widely. "Britt, it's perfect! Thank you!"<em>  
><em>"Yeah?" Brittany lit up at the compliment and her cheeks flushed a little. "I really looove what you did with mine!"<em>  
><em>"I didn't know which color you'd like best so I figured I should just use all of them," she explained, sounding slightly embarrassed.<em>  
><em>"It's perfect," Brittany whispered gently. Santana cleared her throat and suddenly seemed very focused on drying her friend's nails.<em>

_They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, blowing onto each others' nails gently. A few minutes later, Santana slowly began humming along to the song that had come on in the background and whispering the lyrics of the chorus._

_"You've already won me over in spite of me, and don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet. Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are. I couldn't help it. It's all your fault."_  
><em>Brittany sighed contently, listening to Santana's voice. "I think I like this album too," she said simply.<em>

...

Santana twisted and turned in her bed, her sheets cast aside in her attempts to find a comfortable position. She let out an irritated sigh as she sat up in her bed, finally abandoning any hope of getting some sleep. She turned on the lamp on her night table and reached for her ipod. A few seconds later, she lay on her back, listening to the song for what seemed like the thousandth time, wording the lyrics silently.

She hadn't seen Brittany all summer. The blonde had gone to Florida to visit family, and she had stayed in Lima. She'd invited her, of course, but Santana had pretended that her parents wouldn't let her. She had spent the summer going around and around in her mind, trying to find ways to be better, braver.

She felt terrifyingly aware that this was it. Brittany wasn't going to wait around forever. This had to be absolutely perfect. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing, steadying her nerves.

"I can do this," she said to herself, hoping that saying the words would make it so. She exhaled heavily. "I can do this," she repeated with a little more resolve, her mind drifting to heart shapes in nail polish.

...

"Alright! Who is ready to go first?" mr Schue began, grinning widely.

Santana took in a deep breath and was already raising her hand when...

"I'll go mr. Schue!" Rachel exclaimed loudly.  
>Santana rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oooooof course!" she muttered under her breath.<p>

Mr Schue moved aside awkwardly as Rachel took his place at the front of the room. She cleared her throat, her smile slightly wavering, giving way to apprehension.

"I'd like to sing a song from Alanis' fourth album, Under Rug Swept. I was really moved by the lyrics when I heard it, it felt like someone had shined a light inside me and it made me want to share that with you. I hope you like it," she said as nervously as anyone had ever heard her. Even Santana was intrigued by this change in attitude. She watched Rachel curiously as she began singing, nervously locking eyes with Finn.

_You'll rescue me right?_  
><em>In the exact same way they never did...<em>

Finn looked back at her, beaming with pride.

_I'll be happy right?_  
><em>When your healing powers kick in<em>

_You'll complete me right?_  
><em>Then my life can finally begin<em>  
><em>I'll be worthy right?<em>  
><em>Only when you realize the gem I am?<em>

The sadness in her eyes was now apparent. Finn's face fell when he saw it, and for a moment, it seemed as though Rachel's eyes flickered to Quinn.

_But this won't work now the way it once did_  
><em>And I won't keep it up even though I would love to<em>  
><em>Once I know who I'm not, then I'll know who I am<em>  
><em>But I know I won't keep on playing the victim<em>

As she sang the last line of the chorus, it was unmistakable. Her and Quinn exchanged a knowing look, and she remained focused on Quinn for a moment.

_These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was defenseless_  
><em>And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends<em>

She returned her attention to Finn, tears gathering in her eyes, for the rest of the song. Her traits seemed to perfectly embody every emotion of the song as she explored it.

_This ring will help me yet as will you knight in shining armor_  
><em>This pill will help me yet as will these boys gone through like water<em>

Her eyes met Santana.

_But this won't work as well as the way it once did _  
><em>Cause I want to decide between survival and bliss<em>  
><em>And though I know who I'm not I still don't know who I am<em>  
><em>But I know I won't keep on playing the victim<em>

_These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was a kid_  
><em>And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best friend<em>

_I've spent so long firmly looking outside me_  
><em>I've spent so much time living in survival mode<em>

At these words, Santana looked over at Brittany only to surprise her watching her back. Brittany didn't look away, but continued to stare into Santana's eyes through the rest of the song.

_This won't work now the way it once did_  
><em>Cause I want to decide between survival and bliss<em>  
><em>Now I know who I'm not, I still don't know who I am<em>  
><em>But I know I won't keep on playing the victim<em>

_These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was defenseless_  
><em>And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends<em>

_These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was a kid_  
><em>And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best friend<em>

When the music finally died down, everyone began to clap enthusiastically, except for Finn, who stared at his feet, eyes wide with confusion.

"Wow, Rachel, that was really, really fantastic! Good job!" mr Schue encouraged as he placed a hand on her shoulder encouragingly. But she didn't smile. She waited for Finn's reaction anxiously.  
>"Finn...?" she asked quietly after a moment. He didn't answer but got up from his chair abruptly and left the room, shoving past her in the process. She went after him, but not before the other Glee club members could catch a glimpse of some of the tears she'd been holding back during her performance. There was a moment of silence after the door had shut behind them. Mr Schue cleared his throat awkwardly before once again addressing the club.<br>"Uhh, ok. Does anyone want to go next?" he asked hopefully.

Santana rubbed her hands together. She hesitated, furious that Rachel and Finn had chosen today, of all days, to parade their drama in front of everyone.

"We'll go mr Schue!" Tina volunteered with a smile.

Mr Schue sighed in relief and watched gratefully as Tina and Mike went over to the front of the room. They both exchanged excited smiles.

"I think this number will speak for itself," Tina explained as their only introduction.

She nodded to the band and took her place in Mike's arms as she began to sing.

_You from New York, you are so relevant_  
><em>You reduce me to cosmic tears<em>

As the music really kicked in, they began what looked like a waltz, gracefully gliding around the room together.

_Luminous more so than most anyone_  
><em>Unapologetically alive <em>  
><em>Knot in my stomach and lump in my throat<em>

At the start of the chorus, they eased into Latin dance. Their number seemed to significantly ease the tension. Brittany bobbed her head happily, her eyes shining in amazement. Santana looked over at her, smiling lovingly. The rest of the club smiled and laughed, impressed by the way Mike and Tina moved together.

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

At the next verse, Mike moved away from Tina and moved energetically to the music as if it were swing. Tina danced slightly less energetically so as to keep singing the words. They moved as a unit, perfectly complimenting each other.

_Supposed former infatuation junkie_  
><em>I sink three pointers and you ask poetically<em>

For the chorus, they suddenly began tap dancing to everyone's amusement.

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

They took advantage of the short musical bridge to ease into a more casual dance. They span in and out of each others' arms playfully and easily.

_Let's grease the wheel over tea_  
><em>Let's discuss things in confidence<em>  
><em>Let's be outspoken<em>  
><em>Let's be ridiculous<em>  
><em>Let's solve the world's problems<em>

For the last part of the number, they began to pull their fellow Glee club members to the front, dancing ridiculously, and simply having fun together. When Mike reached over to Brittany, the blond linked her pinkie with Santana's, who had been sitting next to her, and dragged her along behind her. With everyone's attention set elsewhere, the girls began dancing with each other. Brittany wrapped her arms loosely around Santana's waist with a grin and shook her shoulders back and forth to the music while the Latina moved her hands in the air, pouting jokingly.

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

_I love you when you dance_  
><em>When you freestyle in trance<em>  
><em>So pure<em>  
><em>Such an expression<em>

As the music came to an end, Santana leaned her forehead against Brittany's and playfully shuffled the blonde's hair with her hands. Brittany scrunched her nose and they both laughed together. They turned to mr Schue as he once again addressed the room but did not make to move out of each others' arms right away.

"Whoooo! Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" he praised while clapping slowly, "Great job you guys! Well, I think that's it for performances, so everybody gather around the piano and we'll work on some scales!"  
>"No! Wait!"<p>

That caught everyone's attention. Suddenly, all of their eyes were on Santana and watched her, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and surprise. She cleared her throat and looked back up at Brittany, who was still holding her, before adding.

"Wait... I have a number too," she finished in a bit of a whisper.  
>"Oh, I'm sorry. Everyone take their seats then, Santana's got something to show us," he said as he signaled everyone back to their seats.<p>

Brittany moved away from her then and took a seat on the front row, right in front of her best friend, eying her curiously. Santana took a deep breath and signaled Brad who started playing what would normally have been played by a guitar. She then fixed her eyes on Brittany and began to sing.

_I can be an asshole of the grandest kind_  
><em>I can withhold like it's going out of style<em>  
><em>I can be the moodiest baby<em>  
><em>And you've never met anyone<em>  
><em>Who is as negative as I am sometimes<em>

Tears quickly began to glisten in her eyes, but she smiled softly as she sang, her eyes never wavering from Brittany's.

_I am the wisest woman you've ever met_  
><em>I am the kindest soul with whom you've connected<em>  
><em>I have the bravest heart that you've ever seen<em>  
><em>And you've never met anyone<em>  
><em>Who's as positive as I am sometimes<em>

Everyone watched them, breathtaken by her sincerity, and in that one moment, they all saw her. In that moment, she was exposed. And it was all for _her_.

_You see everything, you see every part_  
><em>You see all my light, and you love my dark<em>  
><em>You dig everything of which I'm ashamed<em>  
><em>There's not anything to which you can't relate<em>  
><em>And you're still here<em>

Silent tears began to stream down Brittany's cheeks as she stared deeply into Santana's eyes, understanding the significance of that moment. Time seemed to halt for just an instant before the song continued.

_I blame everyone else, not my own partaking_  
><em>My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating<em>  
><em>I'm terrified and mistrusting<em>  
><em>And you've never met anyone<em>  
><em>As closed down as I am sometimes<em>

_You see everything, you see every part_  
><em>You see all my light and you love my dark<em>  
><em>You dig everything of which I'm ashamed<em>  
><em>There's not anything to which you can't relate<em>  
><em>And you're still here<em>

Santana walked towards her audience, stopping in front of Brittany, and slowly knelt onto both knees as she moved towards the end of the song. She placed her hands over Brittany's and continued to stare into her eyes.

_What I resist persists and speaks louder than I know_  
><em>What I resist, you love, no matter how low or high I go<em>

She smirked in spite of the tears in her eyes as she sang the last part.

_I'm the funniest woman that you've ever known_  
><em>I'm the dullest woman that you've ever known<em>  
><em>I'm the most gorgeous woman that you've ever known<em>  
><em>And you've never met anyone<em>  
><em>Who's as everything as I am sometimes<em>

_You see everything, you see every part_  
><em>You see all my light, and you love my dark<em>  
><em>You dig everything of which I'm ashamed<em>  
><em>There's not anything to which you can't relate<em>  
><em>And you're still here<em>

_And you're still here_  
><em>And you're still here<em>  
><em>And you're still here...<em>

A moment of silence followed the last note of the song. Santana looked desperately into Brittany's eyes, anxiously waiting for a reaction, suddenly relieved that Rachel had stormed out earlier. Brittany looked down at their touching hands and her lips curled into an innocent smile.

"Santana..." she breathed out softly, "I'm so proud of you".

And with that, she slid down onto her knees in front of the shorter girl and wrapped her arms around her, placing her hand in the crook between her shoulders. Santana slid her arms around Brittany's neck and breathed a sigh of relief into her. The room broke out in applause and the other glee clubbers got up to give her a standing ovation (well, all except Lauren, who nevertheless clapped unenthusiastically along with the others).

"Thank you," Santana whispered into Brittany's ear.

At this, the blonde held her tighter, breathing in the smell of her as tears continued to run down her face. Mr Schue then took back his place at the front of the room.

"Let's pick this up again tomorrow guys. Fantastic job everyone," he said softly as if to not disturb the girls.

Before they knew it, everyone had left the choir room except for them. Artie was the last to leave, throwing one last bitter glance at Santana before he did. After a moment, they began to move out of each others' arms. Brittany opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Santana closed the small distance between them and brought their lips together.

"I'm sorry," Santana whispered, "I'm sorry, I just..."  
>"It's ok," Brittany cut off and Santana couldn't help but hear the smile in her voice. The blonde held out her pinkie between them, and Santana linked it to her own before walking her to class. Brittany embraced her one last time before walking into her home economics class. "I'll come over after school, ok?" she asked in her ear.<br>Santana's breath hitched as she barely managed to formulate a response, "...o-ok".


	2. A Tough Pill To Swallow Pt 2

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. I also snuck some Liz Lemon (30 Rock) in there. The songs used in this chapter are You Oughta Know, Thank you, Hands Clean, That I Would Be Good, Uninvited, Head Over Feet and Hand in My Pocket. They are the property of Alanis Morissette and Maverick Records. If you want to listen to them as you read, I've made some playlists available on my youtube channel to follow along with every chapter's songs (please check my profile for the link)! A Whole New World is property of Disney Records. Please review and enjoy! ;)

**Synopsis:** It's the first week of senior year and the glee club is back and determined to win nationals! The new year shows promise of change. Santana's tired of the same old song and dance. She wants things to be different this year, to be better. Most importantly, this is her chance to start fresh with Brittany, and she is going to do everything to make it happen. Trouble in paradise for Finn and Rachel, although no-one seems to know why just yet. Meanwhile, Quinn has decided to turn over a new leaf and get her life back on track.

These two first chapters focus almost exclusively on Brittana. There will be some branching out with other characters as the story moves forward, but the main plot will always follow Brittany and Santana. Please review!

* * *

><p><strong>A Tough Pill to Swallow Part 2<strong>

It was just a Tuesday. Students gathered to talk about their summers and desperately tried to escape Jacob Ben Israel's microphone. They lined up to sign up for try-outs and all kinds of clubs; the Cheerios line was especially long. To all, the day seemed to go by rather uneventfully. However, to Santana, the day felt as though is was going by ridiculously slowly. She caught herself glancing at the clock every five or so minutes, wishing that she could fast forward through that afternoon.

When the bell rang after her last class, she hurriedly made her way to her locker to get her things. She looked at herself in the small mirror hanging on her locker door and tried to fix her hair, unable to shake the excited smile that crept its way onto her face. She was leaning forward to fix her mascara when she suddenly felt arms slide around her waist and a familiar chin prop itself onto her shoulder.

Her body tensed slightly at the contact. Her eyes darted nervously around the hallways, still afraid of the looks that they might catch. So she closed her eyes for a short moment, and quickly steadied her breath. She just couldn't allow herself to let her fear get the better of her again.

'Hi,' she managed to breathe out with a shy smile.

Brittany's grip on her tightened in response. She then repositioned herself to whisper in Santana's ear.

"So, you know how I said I was coming over after school today?" she began, as the Santana's eyes widened nervously, her mind racing to conclusions as to where this conversation was going. Had she changed her mind already? Why was she ditching her? She knew how hard it had been for her to sing that song for her in glee club! And to humiliate her like that and blow her off? It was so cruel! So inconsiderate! So...So...  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Well, I thought I had bio last period on Mondays buuuut it turns out I have gym and I forgot to bring a change of clothes so...I kind of have to go home and clean up..." she paused for a second and squeezed Santana tighter before giggling lightly in her ear and adding, "and I guess you do too now."

To emphasize her point, Brittany nuzzled against Santana's back. Both of them laughed as the smaller girl struggled to release herself from her grip, feigning disdain, but only managed to turn in her arms so that they were both facing each other, locking eyes instantly. Santana cleared her throat and averted her eyes as Brittany instantly loosened her grip. Santana blushed slightly as she turned towards her locker to finish gathering her things.

"Alright Britts, so I'll see you later then?" she failed to say nonchalantly.  
>"I'll be over around six," Brittany replied with a small smirk.<p>

With that she leaned in and kissed Santana on the cheek before turning on her heels and walking away.

...

_"Do you trust me?" Brittany whispered as she held her hand out to Santana who was standing on her bed._  
><em>"What?" Santana answered over-dramatically.<em>  
><em>"Do you trust me?" Brittany repeated a little louder, still extending her hand and kneeling on the carpet at the foot of the bed.<em>  
><em>"Yes," her friend answered suspiciously before letting Brittany pull her down.<em>

_They both laughed together as Santana fell awkwardly next to Brittany and A Whole New World began to play in the background. _

_"I can't believe we still know this movie by heart," the Latina said as her laughter subsided._  
><em>"SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLEEENDID!" Brittany sang along to the movie. "Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"<em>

_As she looked into Santana's eyes, the mood seemed to change. She let her hands settle on either side of the Latina's waist. Santana whispered her name, as if asking a question. Brittany nodded, just once, and leaned in slowly. The song continued to play in the background as their lips met tenderly for the first time, and the blonde smiled as the chorus came on._

_No-one to tell us "no" or where to go, or say we're only dreaming._

...

Santana fiddled around with the zipper of her over-sized McKinley jersey, nervously checking her cell phone clock every other minute and pacing between her mirror and her bedroom window, glancing out anxiously. "Would you calm the fuck down?" she yelled at her own reflection. "Stop sweating you idiot! What is wrong with you, you stupid bitch?" she continued, wiping off the sweat that had gathered on her forehead.

"Santana?"  
>"PUTA MADRE!"<p>

Startled, Santana turned around suddenly, knocking over a few bottles of hair products from her dresser. Brittany stood in the doorway with an amused expression on her face.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I cut through the park instead of taking my car and the door wasn't locked...Are you ok? What were you-?" she asked, unable to hide a faint giggle in her voice.  
>"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. You just startled me Britt," she breathed out, slightly embarrassed.<p>

Brittany chuckled as she bent down to help Santana pick up the bottles from the floor. When they caught each others' eyes, they both broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Neither could get up for a long moment. They held their ribs in almost-pain and laughed so hard they cried. As their laughter died down, Brittany inched in closer to Santana. She brought her hand up to Santana's cheek and gently caressed it with the back of her fingers.

"Let's just take it slow, ok?" she whispered, looking into hazel eyes.

Santana nodded shyly, the last remnants of her laughter dying down. Slowly, the blonde leaned in, careful only to close her eyes at the very last moment. Santana sighed into Brittany's mouth as their lips brushed together tenderly.

"Britt," she breathed in between kisses, "can we just...keep this to ourselves for now? I mean the glee club knows and that's fine but, for now, can we just-"

Brittany's lips stopped moving at this. Santana sensed the change. _Oh no..._

"Just...just for now," she added quickly and leaned in to kiss the blonde again, but she pulled away. Santana's face dropped when she took in the look in Brittany's eyes. The blonde stood up quietly and walked out of the room.

...

"So, what's going on with you and Britt? Are you guys dating now?" Quinn asked curiously, one of her eyebrows arching.  
>"I don't know...Leave it to me to mess it up so fast," Santana answered honestly.<p>

Her friend smiled sympathetically as she closed her locker and they began to walk down the hall.

"Hey San?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"I'm really glad we're friends again," the blonde said sincerely.  
>"Don't start getting all sentimental on me now, Q," she replied with a smile, and nudged her friend. There was a comfortable pause before she continued. "Sooo, do you know what you're gonna sing this week in glee club?"<br>"I think so. I still need a little practice though," she said before hesitantly adding, "Rachel's helping me."  
>"Really Q? Groucho?" Santana asked incredulously.<p>

"Be nice," she warned, "she's really not so ba-"

Her thought was interrupted as a retreating Rachel rammed into them right as they were turning the corner.

"Sorry...I'm sorry," she mumbled between tears as she rushed past them in a hurry.  
>"What the f-" began Santana.<br>"Rachel! Wait!" Finn called after her, clearly intending on going after the retreating girl.  
>"No! Nuh uh! Hold up Finnderella!" Santana said angrily as she and Quinn pushed him back in one swift motion, "you need to learn to recognize when a girl does not want to be followed because <em>that<em> girl, my pudgy friend, is a girl that does not want to be followed. So, you're going to turn around and Chaplin walk that humongous tub of yours to class. Understood?"  
>"Santana, this is none of your business," Finn answered, exasperated.<br>"Let it go Finn, she's already gone," Quinn reasoned.

For a second, he seemed as though he would keep arguing, but he simply let out a frustrated sigh, turned around and walked away. Santana and Quinn subtly high fived and continued their way to class.

...

_I'm here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away_  
><em>It's not fair to deny me o<em>_f the cross I bear that you gave to me_  
><em>You, you, you oughta know!<em>

"Well that was...uh...interesting," mr Schue tried to encourage Finn, tapping him on the back lightly after an awkward rendition of You Oughta Know.

Rachel looked down at the floor, deep in thought, while Santana and Quinn who sat on either side of her stared at Finn with their mouths agape, their brows furrowed and their heads tilted similarly.

"Does anyone else have something?" mr Schue asked hopefully.

"I have something mr Schue," Kurt volunteered. He stepped up to the front of the choir room before introducing his number. "I've listened to a lot of Alanis Morissette songs this week. She has written some absolutely great songs, but I wanted to find something that really spoke to me, personally. This song, it didn't just speak to me, it got me thinking about a lot of things. About how everyone experiences challenges in life but you have to keep moving forward. You can't get stuck in the past. That's what I want to do this year. I want to move forward". There was a silent moment of understanding in the room as Kurt signaled Brad and a very simple tune began filling the quiet.

_How bout getting off all these antibiotics_  
><em>How bout stopping eating when I'm full up<em>  
><em>How bout them transparent dangling carrots<em>  
><em>How bout that ever elusive "could of"<em>

_Thank you India_  
><em>Thank you terror<em>  
><em>Thank you disillusionment<em>  
><em>Thank you frailty<br>Thank you consequence  
>Thank you, thank you silence<em>

No-one made a sound as Kurt sang. He looked around the room at all their faces as he continued.

_How bout me not blaming you for everything_  
><em>How bout me enjoying the moment for once<em>  
><em>How bout how good it feels to finally forgive you<em>  
><em>How bout grieving it all one at a time<em>

_Thank you India_  
><em>Thank you terror<em>  
><em>Thank you disillusionment<em>  
><em>Thank you frailty<br>Thank you consequence  
>Thank you, thank you silence<em>

He looked at Finn for a moment, as if trying to say something. Finn looked back at him, eyebrows frowned, failing to understand the advice his brother was subtly trying to give him.

_The moment I let go of it was the moment_  
><em>I got more than I could handle<em>  
><em>The moment I jumped off of it<em>  
><em>Was the moment I touched down<em>

_How bout no longer being masochistic_  
><em>How bout remembering your divinity<em>  
><em>How bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out<em>  
><em>How bout not equating death with stopping<em>

_Thank you India_  
><em>Thank you Providence<em>  
><em>Thank you disillusionment<em>  
><em>Thank you nothingness<br>Thank you clarity  
>Thank you, thank you silence<em>

"Wooooow," Mercedes exclaimed once the song was over.  
>"Kurt, incredible," mr Schue added enthusiastically as Kurt returned to his seat looking proud. "I wouldn't want to follow that but, did anyone else prepare something for today?"<br>"I did," Brittany answered seriously. Santana's expression changed instantly and she found herself staring at the blonde nervously. The blonde signaled Puck to follow her to the front of the class and cleared her throat before giving him the ok to start. He began to pluck the strings of his guitar and soon, Brittany began to sing.

_If it weren't for your maturity none of this would have happened_  
><em>If you weren't so wise beyond your years I would've been able to control myself<em>  
><em>If it weren't for my attention you wouldn't have been successful and if<em>  
><em>If it weren't for me you would never have amounted to very much<em>

_"Ooh this could be messy_  
><em>But you don't seem to mind and<em>  
><em>Ooh don't go telling everybody<em>  
><em>And overlook this supposed crime"<em>

Her eyes were tired, mixed with sadness and almost bitterness. It was a look Santana had never seen on her. It was like getting hit in the stomach, and all she could do was sit there and swallow dryly.

_We'll fast forward to a few years later_  
><em>And no one knows except the both of us<em>  
><em>And I have honored your request for silence<em>  
><em>And you've washed your hands clean of this<em>

There was a frustration in Brittany's voice that empowered the performance and weighed every word with meaning as her eyes locked with Santana's. As she continued, her expression took a turn for disgust and contempt for the words.

_"You're essentially an employee and I like you having to depend on me_  
><em>You're kind of my protégée and one day you'll say you learned all you know from me<em>  
><em>I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian<em>  
><em>I know you sexualize me like a young thing would and I think I like it"<em>

_"Ooh this could get messy_  
><em>But you don't seem to mind<em>  
><em>Ooh don't go telling everybody<em>  
><em>And overlook this supposed crime"<em>

She took another deep breath before continuing with the chorus, infusing it with every ounce of emotion that her being could muster.

_We'll fast forward to a few years later_  
><em>And no one knows except the both of us<em>  
><em>I've more than honored your request for silence<em>  
><em>And you've washed your hands clean of this<em>

Tears began gather in Brittany's eyes, though she refused to cry.

_What part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?_  
><em>What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?<em>  
><em>What with this distance it seems so obvious?<em>

_"Just make sure you don't tell on me especially to members of your family_  
><em>We best keep this to ourselves and not tell any members of our inner posse"<em>

A sad smile crept onto the blonde's face as she continued and Santana finally spotted what she had been looking for in Brittany's eyes since the start of the performance.

_I wish I could tell the world cause you're such a pretty thing when you're done up properly_  
><em>I might want to marry you one day if you watch that weight and keep your firm body<em>

Santana couldn't help but smile with a twinge of relief. She could fix this. There were a lot of things she had no power over but this was within her reach and now, she could see it.

_"Ooh this could be messy and_  
><em>Ooh I don't seem to mind<em>  
><em>Ooh don't go telling everybody<em>  
><em>And overlook this supposed crime"<em>

_We'll fast forward to a few years later_  
><em>And no one knows except the both of us<em>  
><em>I've more than honored your request for silence<em>  
><em>And you've washed your hands clean of this<em>

She sang the chorus a few more times until the song came to a natural end. Everyone applauded energetically and mr Schue took over again, patting Brittany on the back for congratulations.

"Great job! That was fantastic! It was emotional, it was raw, and I want everyone who still hasn't performed this week to take note from this! Ok, well if that's everyone for today then I'll see you all tomorrow," mr Schue announced happily, "I'm so proud of all of you, great work this week!"

...

"Wow," Rachel looked at Quinn with a huge grin on her face.  
>"Yeah? Was that better?" Quinn asked insecurely.<br>"That was amazing," Rachel replied honestly, much to the blonde's surprise, "I think my job here is done!"

Rachel smiled proudly at her pupil who looked down in embarrassment. The brunette walked up to her and gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm really proud of you Quinn. You've really come a long way," Rachel reassured.  
>"Thanks. You know I couldn't have done this without you," she said sincerely.<br>"Yes, you could have," Rachel replied knowingly, "but it was my pleasure to help."

There was a pause and suddenly, her hand on Quinn's shoulder felt heavy. She cleared her throat and removed it.

"I'd better go. Good luck with your song tomorrow Quinn. I'm sure you'll do great."

Rachel began to gather her things while Quinn watched her silently. She was about to leave, her hand on the door knob, when Quinn quickly went to stop her, placing her hand on top of the brunette's.

"Doyouwannastayfordinner!" she asked, i.e. shouted, in one breath.

Rachel stared in confusion for a second. She examined Quinn's face with suspicion that quickly turned to amusement.

"Does this mean we're friends now?" she asked, laughter in her voice.  
>"We were always friends Rach," Quinn replied more softly, "I was just really bad at it."<p>

Both girls smiled fondly, and their hands hesitantly left the door knob.

...

"Alright guys! Who is ready to perform their Alanis Morissette song?" mr Schue opened, his usual over-excitement filling the choir room.

There was a short silence before Quinn raised her hand and volunteered, perfectly confident on the outside in one of her white maternity shirts. She had taken to wearing them even after Beth was born. They felt comfortable somehow. Safe. However, even they couldn't shield her in this moment. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might cough it out any second. She went to sit on a stool at the front of the class, took in a deep breath, and her eyes quickly glanced at Rachel before she signaled Brad.

_That I would be good even if I did nothing_  
><em>That I would be good even if I got the thumbs down<em>  
><em>That I would be good if I got and stayed sick<em>  
><em>That I would be good even if I gained ten pounds<em>

The others' reactions were mixed. Some seemed surprised, others thoughtful, some even in awe. Rachel smiled proudly.

_That I would be fine even if I went bankrupt_  
><em>That I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth<em>  
><em>That I would be great if I was no longer queen<em>  
><em>That I would be grand if I was not all knowing<em>

_That I would be loved even when I numb myself_  
><em>That I would be good even when I am overwhelmed<em>  
><em>That I would be loved even when I was fuming<em>  
><em>That I would be good even if I was clingy<em>

_That I would be good even if I lost sanity_  
><em>That I would be good whether with or without you<em>

There was a roar of applause from the rest of the club as soon as the last note of the song disappeared into the halls of McKinley. Mr Schue clapped his hands slowly and praised her performance. Rachel walked up to her and enveloped her in an excited hug while whispering words of congratulations. Everyone seemed in complete awe of her performance except for Finn who suspiciously eyed both girls, looking almost angry. Rachel caught his gaze but hurriedly turned away.

No-one else had prepared a performance for that day, and soon the room was left almost empty as the students headed out for lunch. Quinn took one more look around the choir room, feeling proud, before heading out. She was startled when she saw Finn standing in front of her, blocking her exit. Had he been watching her the whole time?

"Quinn," he said seriously. She felt a little uneasy with his expression and tone.  
>"Did you want to talk to me about something?" she asked casually, not seeing where this was going.<br>"Look," he started, "I'm not mad. I just want to know what you said to her."  
>"What I said to who?" she asked, genuinely confused.<br>"Look, I'm not an idiot. We were happy, we were in love. She was happy," he insisted. "Then all of the sudden, she doesn't want to be with me anymore." His voice broke and Quinn's gaze turned compassionate as she saw the cracks in his facade. "And you mean to tell me that it's just a weird coincidence that you two are suddenly the best of friends. I know we have a messed up history Quinn, but I need to know what you told Rachel that made her suddenly think that we aren't meant for each other."  
>"Finn..." the blonde started softly.<br>"You know what? Forget it! I don't know why I thought you'd actually be decent about this! I'll see you later," he said bitterly as he walked away.

Quinn sighed as she watched him walk away. She dropped her bag on the floor and moved to sit at the piano, singing to herself as she pressed on the keys gently.

_Like anyone would be_  
><em>I am flattered by your fascination with me<em>  
><em>Like any hot-blooded woman<em>  
><em>I have simply wanted an object to crave<br>But you, you're not allowed  
>You're uninvited<br>An unfortunate slight_

_Must be strangely exciting_  
><em>To watch the stoic squirm<em>  
><em>Must be somewhat heartening<em>  
><em>To watch shepherd need shepherd<br>_

Quinn fiddled with the cross around her neck and seemed deep in thought as she stopped playing for a moment.

_But you, you're not allowed  
>You're uninvited<br>An unfortunate slight_

_Like any uncharted territory_  
><em>I must seem greatly intriguing<em>  
><em>You speak of my love like<em>  
><em>You have experienced love like mine before<br>But this is not allowed  
>You're uninvited<br>An unfortunate slight_

_I don't think you unworthy_  
><em>I need a moment to deliberate<em>

...

"Hi," Santana tentatively whispered while Brittany avoided her gaze, pretending to be focused on rearranging her books in her locker.

Brittany only nodded as a response, all the while not looking back at her.

"Britt, can we talk, please?" she continued softly.  
>The blonde sighed. "What else is there to say, San?" she said sounding defeated. "Look, I'm not mad. I'm just...We've been dancing around this for a long time, you know? I'm just really tired. It's like that song we wrote for Nationals, remember? Are we ever going to stop pretending, San?"<p>

With that, Brittany closed her locker and began to walk away from her, heading towards the cafeteria. Never one to give up, Santana followed her closely but didn't say anything more. Her heart was racing in anticipation of what she was about to do. For both of them.

Once in the cafeteria, instead of following the blonde, she headed for the middle of the room and climbed right onto the nearest table.

"MOVE IT SANDBAGS!" wailed Becky, but Santana ignored her as well as the handful of peas she threw at her.

Everyone's eyes had turned towards her, including Brittany's who looked surprised and riddled. Santana took in a shaky breath and with an equally shaky voice began to sing...

_I had no choice but to hear you_  
><em>You stated your case time and again<em>  
><em>I thought about it<em>

A snicker. Another.

_You treat me like I'm a princess_  
><em>I'm not used to liking that<em>  
><em>You ask how my day was<em>

Laughter began to go around the room, but Santana stood firm, shaking as she was, looking into blue eyes imploringly. Seeing her distress, Quinn quickly climbed onto the table next to Santana, dragging Rachel behind her, while Puck inexplicably raced out of the room. Quinn placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, urging her to continue. As she did, the two other girls joined in, harmonizing, and her voice became increasingly more confident.

_You've already won me over in spite of me_  
><em>And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet<em>  
><em>Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are<em>  
><em>I couldn't help it<em>  
><em>It's all your fault<em>

_Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole_  
><em>You're so much braver than I gave you credit for<em>  
><em>That's not lip service<em>

To Santana's surprise, Puck then walked back into the cafeteria strumming his guitar to the music, smiling encouragingly at her.

_You've already won me over in spite of me_  
><em>And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet<em>  
><em>Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are<em>  
><em>I couldn't help it<em>  
><em>It's all your fault<em>

Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Mike were the next to climb quietly onto the table behind Santana. Even Artie had wheeled up close to them humming, looking sympathetically at Santana as he waited for the next chorus to jump in. She had it bad and he could see it.

_You are the bearer of unconditional things_  
><em>You held your breath and the door for me<em>  
><em>Thanks for your patience<em>

Sam then joined in with his harmonica, dancing around ridiculously while Santana jumped off the table and made her way to Brittany. Once she had reached her, she took both her hands in hers and looked into her eyes before continuing.

_You're the best listener that I've ever met_  
><em>You're my best friend<em>  
><em>Best friend with benefits<em>  
><em>What took me so long<em>

_I've never felt this healthy before_  
><em>I've never wanted something rational<em>  
><em>I am aware now<em>  
><em>I am aware now<em>

Finn joined them for the next chorus and the entire glee club now chimed in energetically.

_You've already won me over in spite of me_  
><em>And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet<em>  
><em>Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are<em>  
><em>I couldn't help it<em>  
><em>It's all your fault<em>

As the other girls continued to vocalize to Puck's guitar and Sam's harmonica, Santana slid her hand onto Brittany's waist. She pulled the blonde close, laid her head on her shoulder and began to slowly sway them from left to right.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly.

And that was all she said. Brittany was so speechless, all she could do was nod as tears ran down her cheeks. She clung to the Latina almost desperately, incapable of containing her emotions.

As the music began to die down slowly, Puck looked around the cafeteria apprehensively. He quickly signaled Finn and Sam who began to scurry all of the glee club members out of the room. Once they were all out, he strummed one last chord, and scanned the cafeteria once before running out of the door as fast as he could. Just as he reached the hall, he heard the familiar clamor of a food fight and smiled as he made his way to the choir room, congratulating himself on his own cleverness.

...

When mr Schue walked into the choir room, he was a little surprised to find that the entire club was already there. All of them were congregated in the back of the room, their chairs turned partly towards each other. He hadn't seen them all be that openly friendly to each other in a while and it brought a smile to his face. Only Brittany and Santana seemed to be a little distanced from the group. They sat closely together, Brittany's legs draped over Santana's as she ran her fingers up and down the blonde's arm, and seemed to be whispering to each other sweetly.

"Hey, how come you guys are here so early?" he asked curiously.  
>"We're just hanging out," replied Sam with a shrug.<p>

Mr Schue smiled at that but did not interrogate them further, pleased with the camaraderie they were displaying.

"So, it's Friday! Last day of Alanis Morissette week! I really want everyone to participate so, if you still haven't performed, now's your chance!" he invited gleefully.  
>"Yep, Artie, Sam and I've been working on something," Puck suggested.<p>

Mr Schue went to sit with the students while Puck and Sam grabbed their guitars and Artie wheeled himself to the front holding a tambourine. Artie gave the rhythm and Puck began to strum his guitar as Sam took the lead.

_I'm broke but I'm happy_  
><em>I'm poor but I'm kind<em>  
><em>I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah<em>

_I'm high but I'm grounded_  
><em>I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed<em>  
><em>I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby<em>

Mercedes smiled at the odd-looking blond. Santana held Brittany closer and kissed her cheek.

_And what it all comes down to_  
><em>Is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine<em>

_'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket_  
><em>And the other one's giving a high five<em>

Puck took the lead for the next verse, smiling at the words.

_I feel drunk but I'm sober_  
><em>I'm young and I'm underpaid<em>  
><em>I'm tired but I'm working, yeah<em>

_I care but I'm restless_  
><em>I'm here but I'm really gone<em>  
><em>I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby<em>

_And what it all comes down to_  
><em>Is that everything's gonna be quite alright<em>

_'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket_  
><em>And the other one is flicking a cigarette<em>

Sam then stopped strumming the chords of his guitar and pulled out his harmonica for a solo. Once he was done, he jumped back in with his guitar.

_And what it all comes down to_  
><em>Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet<em>

_'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket_  
><em>And the other one's giving the peace sign<em>

Puck and Sam began to play more quietly as Artie took the lead. A sad smile found its way onto the boy's face as he sang.

_I'm free but I'm focused_  
><em>I'm green but I'm wise<em>  
><em>I'm hard but I'm friendly baby<em>

Slowly, Puck and Sam increased the volume of their playing.

_I'm sad but I'm laughing_  
><em>I'm brave but I'm chickenshit<em>  
><em>I'm sick but I'm pretty baby<em>

_And what it all boils down to_  
><em>Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet<em>

_'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket_  
><em>And the other one is playing the piano<em>

The three of them sang together for the last part as the guitar slowly quieted back down towards the end of the song.

_And what it all comes down to my friends_  
><em>Is that everything is just fine, fine, fine<em>

_'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket_  
><em>And the other one is hailing a taxi cab<em>

Sam stopped playing all together as he transitioned into another harmonica solo.

By the end of the song, the entire room felt serene and at peace. Finn still, however, could not help but notice how Rachel had laced her fingers with Quinn's half way through the song.


	3. Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. The songs used in this chapter are the property of Sony/ATV I think. In order, the songs used in this chapter are Help!, Eight Days a Week, Twist & Shout, I've Just Seen A Face (the Across the Universe cover), And I Love Her, and Oh Darlin!. I strongly suggest you look them up on youtube and listen to them as you read, or better yet, listen to them on my 8tracks mix: 8trackscom/burtonfan23/sgt-sugar-s-lonely-hearts-club-band-pt-1-and-2 (they don't allow posting a link on this site so...follow your instincts and add a dot to that address). The M rating will begin to apply starting part three of this chapter. Please review and enjoy! ;)

I've just figured out how to fix the spacing on these so I'm re-posting every chapter (sorry, and thanks for sticking around). Just a side-note, you're going to meet Allison in this chapter. I like to imagine her as Marissa Von Bleicken from the Glee Project ;) Also, for Oh Darlin, think Zack Hanson's concert cover (I know that sounds ridiculous, but I swear it's amazing ahah)

* * *

><p><strong>Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Part 1<strong>

'I just want to start by telling you guys how proud I am of the work you did last week! We're all making great progress! Give yourselves a hand,' mr Schue exclaimed as everyone took their seats in the choir room. They were all a little distracted, however, by the odd looking brunette sitting at the front of the room behind him. She wore a leopard cardigan over a fitting black shirt, a white sports cap, and a goofy, oblivious expression on her face that felt both familiar and strangely foreign to them. Santana stared at her, mouth gaping, while Brittany looked at her curiously. 'I also have a few announcements to make. I'd like to introduce you all to Sugar Motta,' he announced, gesturing back at the girl briefly. She smiled at them arrogantly. 'Sugar's father has generously offered to fund our school musical this year as well as all of the glee club's activities.'  
>'What's the catch?' asked Kurt, suspiciously eying Sugar.<br>Mr Schue cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing. 'There is no catch Kurt but there are a few conditions...The first is that we will have a co-director this year.'  
>'It's not Sue again is it mr Schue?' asked Quinn.<br>'No, no it's not Sue. It's, uh, miss Corcoran,' he answered looking even more awkward than before.

Quinn's jaw dropped and she stared at her teacher with wide eyes. Puck seemed deep in thought and Rachel looked confused. Still, no-one complained.

'Miss Corcoran will be helping us with practice and she will be preparing one of two numbers we will be doing for every competition. Now, I know it's going to be a bit of an adjustment, but I think it's going to help us be the best we can be this year! Also, I am going to have a little more time on my hands for a really special project which brings me to our next order of business: the school musical! It is my pleasure to announce to you that our school musical, which I will be co-directing this year, iiiiiis...CHICAGO!'

A roar of clamor swept through the room at this.

'Oh my God Britt, I so wanna be Velma!' Santana excitedly whispered to Brittany who smiled at her sweetly.  
>'The part of Roxy will look simply outstanding on my resume!' Rachel exclaimed loudly.<p>

Brittany threw her an annoyed glance but held back the biting remark.

'And there is more news. I will be accompanied in directing the musical by both miss Pillsbury AND,' he paused for dramatic effect, 'a student co-director.'  
>'Oh, mr Schue I'm flattered but I simply couldn't-' Rachel began.<br>'You are so full of yourself,' Brittany said flatly. Sugar giggled and her smile was more genuine. Brittany looked over at her and suddenly twitched in surprise. Sugar quickly turned away, looking like she had just gotten caught in a lie.  
>Mr Schue laughed awkwardly. 'Actually, we were hoping that Artie would want the job!'<br>'Really?' the boy replied excitedly while Tina tapped him encouragingly on the back, 'I would be honored mr Schue! Thank you so much for the opportunity!' A pause. 'Wait, do I get paid?'  
>'We will be holding open auditions for every part so everyone interested should prepare both a song and should also be prepared to read a few lines for their character,' mr Schue continued, ignoring his question. 'Now, before I tell you about our last order of business, I want to introduce this week's assignment. Some of you have expressed concerns about focusing our attention on singer-songwriters, and I think the reason for that is that we haven't really talked about what a singer-songwriter is. So, who can tell me what a singer-songwriter is?'<br>'Someone who sings and writes songs?' Puck suggested lazily.  
>'Ok, good. A singer-songwriter is someone who composes, writes and sings their own music. Can someone give me some examples?' Will continued.<br>'Joni Mitchel?' Quinn answered.  
>'Lykke Li,' said Tina.<br>'Billy Joel,' contributed Puck.  
>'Stevie Nicks,' said Santana.<br>'Springsteen,' suggested Finn.  
>'Alright, those are all great examples. But the point I really want to make here is that a singer-songwriter isn't defined by the type of music that he makes, but by the fact that he makes it,' he paused for a moment to let them all reflect on that before continuing, 'What about Tupac? What about Amy Winehouse? Kurt Cobain, Mariah Carey, Adele, Bono, Kylie Minogue? These are all singer-songwriters in their own right and we will be studying all of these different genres in the coming weeks. Now, for this week, we are going to focus our attention on one of the greatest songwriting duos in history...Paul McCartney and John Lennon!'<p>

Brittany gasped in excitement and clapped her hands silently. Santana grinned widely at her. Mr Schue turned around and wrote down their next assignment on the board, smiling at the club's enthusiasm.

'That's riiight, this week we will be covering songs from The Beatles! I think we could all learn a little something from their music, both in terms of lyrics and melody,' mr Schue explained, proudly looking at his students react positively to his suggestion, 'Now finally, for our last bit of exciting news, we have someone auditioning for glee club this morning!'  
>'Did you know about this?' Rachel asked Finn in an outraged whisper. When he gave her an angry glare in response, she looked away, suddenly remembering that they weren't on good terms.<br>'Alright Sugar, show us what you got!' mr Schue said, moving aside.

Santana and Kurt arched their eyebrows. _There's the catch._

Sugar cleared her throat loudly before introducing herself. 'Hi, I'm Sugar Motta. I saw you guys singing in the cafeteria last week and, I have to say, most of you were really terrible...most of you,' she said, showing absolutely no restraint. 'You weren't,' she added looking at Santana who simply nodded at the compliment. 'Sorry, I have self-diagnosed aspergers,' she then explained to the group silently judging her. 'Anyway, for my audition, I'm going to sing The Beatles hit song Help! because you guys really do need all the help you can get!' She then signaled Will to press play on the CD player. As soon as the drumming and confused medley of sounds began, Sugar swayed her hips energetically.

_Help!_  
><em>I need somebody help!<em>  
><em>Not just anybody help! <em>  
><em>You know I need someone heeeelp!<em>

They all cringed instantly at the impressive array of false notes that came flying out of her mouth except for Brittany who bobbed her head obliviously.

_When I was younger so much younger than today_  
><em>I never needed anybody's helping anyway<em>  
><em>But now these days have gone, I'm not so self-assured<em>  
><em>Now I find I've changed my mind<em>  
><em>I've opened up the doors<em>

To their dismay, she continued to dance around the room, her singing getting worse after every line. She shook Artie's chair and ruffled Tina's hair for emphasis.

_Help me if you can I'm feeling doooown_  
><em>And I do appreciate you being 'roo-ound<em>  
><em>Help me get my feet back on the groooound<em>  
><em>Won't you pleeeeeaaaase, please help me!<em>

'Please, dear God, someone help her...' Quinn sarcastically whispered, half-amused, to Rachel who looked on at the performance outraged.

_And now my life has changed in oh so many wayyyyys_  
><em>My independence seems to VANISH in the haze<em>

Sugar made wide gestures with her arms and Santana couldn't hold it anymore. A quiet, breathy, uncontrollable laughter took over her body. She leaned into Brittany trying to mask it.

_But every now and then I feel so insecure_  
><em>I know that I just need you like I've never done before<em>

She got down on her knees in an exaggerated pleading gesture. Santana shook violently in laughter. Brittany looked down at her smiling widely.

_Help me if you can I'm feeling doooohooown_  
><em>And I do appreciate you being 'roooound<em>

She spun her upper body around at the words and jumping back on her feet continued.

_Help me get my feet back on the groooooound_  
><em>Won't you pleeeeeeeeaaaaaase, please help me!<em>

Her face suddenly took on a serious expression in an attempt to display emotion at the next verse. Quinn caught sight of Santana lost in her laughing fit and struggled visibly with containing her own laughter.

_When I was younger so much younger than today_  
><em>I never needed anybody's helping anyway<em>  
><em>But now these days have gone, I'm not so self-assured<em>  
><em>Now I find I've changed my mind<em>  
><em>I've opened up the doors<em>

She moved up to mr Schue and pulled on his vest dramatically.

_Help me if you can I'm feeling dooooooown_  
><em>And I do appreciate you being 'roooooooound<em>  
><em>Help me get my feet back on the grooooooooound<em>  
><em>Won't you pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, please help me!<em>  
><em>HELP ME! HELP MEEEEEE OOOOH!<em>

An awkward clap. Santana's voice echoed in the silent room as her laughter finally began to subside.

'Ahah wow! THAT was fantastic ahah!' she said wiping a stray tear from her eye, a radiant smile across her face.  
>'I loved it,' Brittany chimed in, honestly.<br>'It was uh,' Quinn stopped for a second, unable to hold back a small giggle, 'gr-great energy.'

Rachel looked at them, clearly only further outraged by their encouragements.

Mr Schue cleared his throat awkwardly, 'Uh ok, so um thank you Sugar for that uh..we'll uh-'  
>'WE will let you know!' Rachel cut in loudly before mr Schue could say anything definitive.<br>'Thank you,' Sugar replied simply before grabbing her schoolbag and skipping out of the room.  
>'I like her,' Brittany deadpanned.<br>'Well, she's definitely gleeful,' Artie suggested.  
>'Guys NO! Her voice is terrible! She will ruin us at competition! We cannot-' Rachel vehemently argued.<br>'Pipe down Fran Drescher! I say we vote on it. Honestly, I'd love it if we didn't have to break open our piggy banks for funds this year and Rachel sings 90% of our competition solos anyway,' Santana countered. 'Besides, you have to admit that was pretty entertaining,' she added with a giggle.  
>'I love you,' Brittany whispered as she leaned into her subtly.<br>'We do need the money Rachel, and we could coach her you know?' Mercedes chimed in.  
>'Ok! Fine! Let's vote on it then!' Rachel conceded, 'all those in favor?'<p>

To her horror, everyone raised their hands.

'Kurt? Really?' she reprimanded.  
>'Hey, the girl had on some pretty courageous accessories. Take notes Rachel,' he defended.<br>'All those opposed?' cued mr Schue.

Rachel stuck her hand up emphatically.

'Alright, well then I guess that settles it! We'll welcome our newest member, Sugar, tomorrow, and tonight I want you guys to work on your Beatles covers so we can get started!'

The bell rang as everyone was gathering their things and shuffling out of the room.

'You guys wanna go to Bacon Bits for lunch? I'm craaaving bacon like you wouldn't believe right now,' Quinn suggested, walking over to Santana and Brittany with Mercedes.

The other girls shared a knowing look. Quinn craved bacon whenever she was upset. But now was not the time to question her.

'Yep, I'm starving. Let's go _muchachas_!' Santana agreed.

She laced her fingers with Brittany, ready to walk out with her girlfriends.

...

'Mmmmmmm'

'Mmmhmmm God!'  
>'Quinn stop making those noises!' Mercedes half-heartedly chastized.<br>'Mmmmmh soooooo goooood!' Quinn exclaimed loudly, 'If I could eat bacon always and not get fat, I would.'  
>'I'd say you're crazy girl, but I feel the same way 'bout ma tots!'<br>'I think you're both crazy,' Santana said lazily with her mouth full.

Brittany was silent, eating Santana's fries and looking at each of their faces one by one with a content smile on her face. The latina glanced in her direction and blues eyes told her everything Brittany didn't want to say out loud. _I'm so happy right now._

She could get lost in those eyes so easily... She turned to Mercedes to break the tension.

'So, you gonna audition for Chicago?'  
>'Mhm, the part of Mama's practically in the bag!' she said proudly, 'You going for Velma?'<br>Santana smiled radiantly, 'how'd you know?'  
>'Bitch please, that part was like written <em>for<em> you!' Mercedes hesitated before turning to Quinn, 'What about you girl? Are you gonna audition?'  
>'Oh! You'd be great for Roxy!' Brittany exclaimed.<p>

The blonde laughed shyly at the compliment but seemed to consider it.

'You guys think I should?' she asked them hesitantly.  
>'Are you kidding? Q, you'd be amazing! You're a great actress, and we could all rehearse together and kill it!' Santana encouraged.<br>'Yeah Quinn, it would be so much fun!' Brittany continued. When her friends looked at her questioningly, she added with a shrug 'I'm auditioning for the part of the Hunyak. I just really want to dance that tango.'  
>'I don't know, I mean, I would really like to but I think Rachel's going for that part too, and you know I can't compete with her,' Quinn said matter-of-factly.<br>'Quinn, listen to me. Rachel's a great singer, but remember when we did Rocky Horror last year? She's a horrible actress, Quinn,' Santana told her confidently.

Quinn looked at her seriously for a moment, almost hopefully.

'But you know who's an _amazing_ actress?' Brittany cooed.  
>'OK, OK,' Quinn gave in, 'but only 'cause I don't want to let you guys down!'<br>'Atta girl! Now eat your bacon, we don'ts got all day Fabray!'  
>'S, did you just rhyme? You're such a dork,' Quinn huffed.<p>

Mercedes laughed loudly at that and, for the second time that day, Santana felt Brittany's hand slide down the small of her back, lean into her and whisper in her ear. _I love you_.

...

_EIGHT DAYS A WEEEK!_  
><em>I LOO-o-O-o-OOVE YOU!<em>

Brittany sang loudly in the passenger seat while Santana parked the car in the driveway and turned off the ignition.

'Baby, why are there balloons on your porch? I thought Ashley's birthday was in April,' Santana asked curiously.

There was a moment, and when the blonde didn't answer, Santana turned towards her. To her surprise, she saw Brittany climb over the center console to straddle her on the driver's seat. She smiled at her softly and the blonde leaned in to kiss her breathlessly. Santana moaned. Her hands scratched at her girlfriend's thighs lightly when Brittany bit her lower lip playfully.

'Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?'  
>'You called me "baby",' the blonde explained moving her head down to nip at the latina's throat.<p>

Santana took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and basking in the smell of her lover. When she opened them again, she saw Brittany's father through the open garage door, excitedly looking through boxes for something. Once filled with things they didn't have the heart to leave behind when they moved into the house about twenty years prior, those boxes had long since been piled into the back of the garage and forgotten. A nip to her pulse point brought her back and she nudged Brittany back a little to lean their foreheads together.

'Hi,' whispered the blonde breathlessly.  
>'Hey,' she said back with a tender smile, 'so you gonna tell me what's going on? Even your dad's acting weirder than usual.'<br>'Well,' she replied tentatively, 'we've had a spare bedroom in my house since my brother moved out last summer. I wanted my parents to give it to Lord Tubbington but they said Charity might get jealous and Tubbington doesn't like to share so,' she paused and Santana smiled at the blonde's joke. 'Anyway, so my dad joined this program for families who want to take in a foreign exchange student. I think he was arriving today.'  
>'Wait, he's gonna be living with you?' she blurted out in sudden realization, 'What do you even know about this kid? What if he's some deranged lunatic and you're just gonna let him into your house just like that? What if-'<p>

Her sentence was cut short by Brittany forcing her lips back onto hers. She moaned at the sudden contact and tried to pull back.

'No! Britt-' a kiss, 'what if,' another, 'baby, let me-'

At the sound of her new pet name, Brittany kissed her more fiercely and slipped her tongue past the latina's lips. Santana moaned loudly and her nails slid across Brittany's thighs, pulling the blonde more tightly against her.

'You're so sexy when you're jealous,' Brittany cooed seductively against Santana's lips.  
>'What? No! I'm not-'<p>

Brittany pecked her on the lips a few times to stop her, smiling into every kiss. Santana sighed in surrender. She pressed their foreheads together again.

'Are you coming in?' Brittany asked, her voice breathy and smooth, sliding her fingers back and forth just slightly beneath the hem of Santana's shirt.

Santana considered it for a second.

'Not tonight,' she finally answered shyly. 'Not yet...Is that ok?'  
>'Of course,' Brittany answered softly.<p>

They kissed slowly, tenderly, the urgency of the previous moment completely dissipated.

'I'll be here at 7 tomorrow to pick you up ok?'

Brittany shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

'Ok. Thank you sweetheart,' she said gratefully, and giving Santana one last peck, she climbed off of her and out of the car.

Hearing the sound, Brittany's father looked up and smiled at his daughter. Then, noticing that Brittany had gotten out of the driver's seat, he raised his eyebrows, warningly eying the brunette over his glasses. Santana waved at him awkwardly before turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the driveway, smiling when she caught sight of Brittany blowing her a kiss.

...

'Hey dad!' the blonde skipped towards her father happily.  
>'Hi honey! If you have time right now go see your mom ok? Rory's flight was delayed so we're going to try and clean up before he gets here and show this kid some Pierce family hospitality!'<br>'Ok sure! No problem!' she answered excitedly, running into the house.

Her father simply nodded in amusement and continued to look through the boxes for decorations.

...

'We'll be back in a few hours honey! There's dinner in the oven if you get hungry!' Brittany's mother yelled from the front door.  
>'Ok, merci maman!' the blonde shouted back at her.<p>

She heard the door close behind them and the car back out of the driveway. Reassured that the coast was clear, she turned volume nob on her stereo up and continued to sort through the mess of things lying on her bed that she had to organize onto her shelves.

_Well, shake it up, baby now_  
><em>(Shake it up baby)<em>  
><em>Twist and shout!<em>  
><em>(Twist and shout)<em>  
><em>Cmon, cmon, cmon, cmon baby now!<br>(Cmon baby)_  
><em>Come on and work it on out!<br>(Work it on out)_  
><em>Well, work it on out, honey!<br>(Work it on out)_  
><em>You know you look so goooood!<em>

She took a framed picture of Santana from her dresser and kissed it dreamily. The brunette was leaning towards the camera in her Cheerios uniform, pouting her lips as if to blow a kiss, her lips turned into a smile. The blonde giggled giddily at the fluttery feeling she felt in her stomach and sang along.

_You know you got me goin' now!_  
><em>(Got me goin')<em>  
><em>Just like I knew you would<em>  
><em>(Like I knew you would)<em>

She set down the frame suddenly when she heard her phone vibrate. She flipped through the mess in a clumsy eagerness to find it.

_'So what's this kid like? Is he big? Could I take him?'_

Brittany couldn't hold back the goofy smile. She flipped the phone over to reply.

_'My parents are picking him up from the airport now. Funny, I was just thinking about you beautiful.'_

She sent the text and waited for a response. Her phone vibrated with a response almost instantly.

_'I'm thinking about you too.'_

She felt her pulse quicken and a familiar pressure in her lower abdomen. She smiled at the feeling but her face quickly fell as a thought crossed her mind.

_'Hey honey, what did you mean in the car earlier when you said "not yet"?'_

The blonde pressed the send button and waited nervously. There was a pause.

_'I just...you how much I want you, baby, I do. I just want our first time as a couple to be really special. I want it to be romantic you know? I mean, we haven't slept together in a while and I just want to make sure that next time we do, it's really making love.'_

Brittany let out a shaky breath as the words hit her. She typed in her response, feeling more confident than ever.

_'I love you so much.'_  
><em>'I love you too Britt Britt.'<em>

Brittany sighed and looked over at the clock. _Son of a nutcracker!_

_'I need to finish cleaning sweetheart, but I'll see you tomorrow! Try and get here early!"_  
><em>'Why?' said the quick response.<em>  
><em>'Cause if we're not getting our mack on any time soon, I'm going to need some sweet lady kisses before class tomorrow ;)'<em>

...

'Honey! We're back!' Brittany's dad sing-songed from the bottom of the staircase. When he heard no response, he shrugged it off and turned to Rory. 'Alright young man, our youngest daughter, Ashley, is actually at a friend's house tonight but you can go right up and meet Brittany if you want. Your room is right upstairs, second door on the right. Why don't you go drop off your bag and get her while we fix you up some dinner?'  
>'Thank you so much mr Pierce,' Rory said happily making his way up the stairs with his suitcase.<p>

As he neared the top of the staircase, he began to hear some music and some shuffling, as well as...the sweetest voice he'd ever heard in his life. He quietly put his bag down by the first door on the right and peering into the room where the sound was coming from. He was immediately mesmerized by the sight. He saw long tanned legs and beautiful flowy blonde tresses gliding around the room as the girl swiffered from one corner to the next, completely absorbed by the music. She turned, swiffer in hand, and he smiled...but then she looked up, suddenly catching sight of him.

'AAAH!' she screamed, dropping her swiffer.

Rory covered his ears, half-amused by the terrified expression on her face. She had a hand on her chest, desperately trying to catch her breath.

'Oh wow...oh my God...' she said, trying to catch her breath.  
>'Hi,' he attempted, 'I'm Rory Flanagan. Sorry I gave you a bit of a scare there.' He reached out his hand towards her.<br>'Hi...I'm Brittany,' she said through a breathy laughter, a little shy and embarrassed. She met his hand shake politely but was a little put off when he held her there a little too long. She cleared her throat awkwardly and he let go, suddenly shaking out of his daze.  
>'Uh your dad said to tell you to come downstairs when you're ready,' he relayed the message.<br>'Ok thanks,' she answered nicely, 'I'll be down in a minute.'

He turned around, grabbed his suitcase, and walked toward the next room, humming along to the song that had just come on on Brittany's stereo before singing the words quietly.

_I've just seen a face_  
><em>I can't forget the time or place <em>  
><em>Where we just met<em>  
><em>She's just the girl for me <em>  
><em>And I want all the world <em>  
><em>To see we've met<em>  
><em>Mmmmm<em>

He looked at the family pictures hanging on the side of the hall and smiled fondly at Brittany's features making his way to his room.

_Had it been another day_  
><em>I might have looked the other way<em>  
><em>And I'd have never been aware<em>  
><em>But as it is I'll dream of her tonight<em>  
><em>La di di da di di<em>

_Falling, yes I am falling_  
><em>And she keeps calling<em>  
><em>Me back again<em>

He walked into the room and dropped his suitcase on the bed. He opened it and pulled out a picture frame of him and his friends back home that he placed on the night table.

_I have never known the likes of this_  
><em>I've been alone and I have missed things<em>  
><em>And kept out of sight<em>  
><em>For other girls were never quite like this<em>  
><em>La di di da di di<em>

Smiling, he left the rest and walked back towards the hall cheerfully.

_Falling, yes I am falling_  
><em>And she keeps calling<em>  
><em>Me back again<em>

_Falling, yes I am falling_  
><em>And she keeps calling<em>  
><em>Me back again<em>

...

Santana puckered her lips, re-arranging her lipstick in the rear-view mirror. She flipped her phone open and quickly texted Brittany.

_'Good morning sunshine ;) I'm right outside when you're ready.'_

She placed the phone back on the dashboard, but it unexpectedly instantly vibrated with a reply.

_'Hey, you might want to come in, this is probably going to take a little while :( '_

Santana frowned at the message but didn't over-think it. She put the phone in her jacket and turned off the ignition. She walked up the front steps and let herself in (the Pierces had grown accustomed to her coming and going casually a long time ago).

'Oh! Good morning! Santana honey, would you like a breakfast bagel?' Brittany's mother offered kindly from the kitchen as soon as the latina had crossed the threshold.  
>'No thanks mrs P,' she answered politely. 'Is Brittany almost ready?'<br>'Yeah she's in her room. I think she's all set but you might need to wait a little for Rory. He was feeling a little queasy,' she leaned closer to the latina and continued secretively, 'you know, first day jitters.'

She nodded remembering the foreign exchange student. _Rory, is it? Nice of you to rain on my parade..._

'Alright, I'll just go up to see her then,' she said with a little wave to the woman who smiled back warmly.

She walked up the stairs, feeling a little dejected, and into Brittany's room. The blonde was standing in front of the dresser, fixing her ponytail. Santana leaned on the door frame and observed her for a second before speaking.

'Hi,' she greeted softly.

The blonde's breath hitched, she closed her eyes and her shoulders shot up slightly in surprise. She turned around to face the latina with a hand on her chest.

'Hi,' she breathed, 'wow, why does that keep happening?'  
>'Hey, last time you scared me!' Santana defended as she walked up to Brittany, wrapped her arms around her midsection and leaned her chin on the blonde's shoulder.<br>'True,' she answered, relaxing into the touch, 'but Rory scared me last night too.'  
>'Last night?' the latina inquired. Brittany sensed her body tense and saw her eyebrows arch in surprise.<br>'Yeah, it wasn't a big deal,' she quickly added, 'he just walked in on me when I was cleaning and scared me a bit.'  
>'Oh,' Santana said simply, but Brittany could practically hear the gears turning in her head.<br>'Be nice,' the blonde said as she turned in Santana's arms and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. 'He didn't do it on purpose...'

Santana instinctively pulled her in closer, and placed a lingering kiss on the blonde's neck possessively. Brittany laced her fingers through the latina's hair and sighed, automatically curling into her touch. There was a light knock on the door and Santana sighed in annoyance.

'Hey Brittany, are you ready to go?' Rory asked shyly.  
>'Yep!' the blonde chirped. 'Santana this is Rory, he's from Ireland,' she said gesturing to the boy, 'Rory this is Santana, my...my uh'<p>

She fumbled a little, unsure of what Santana was comfortable with her revealing. To her surprise, the latina extended her hand to Rory and smirked arrogantly.

'Her girlfriend,' she finished for her, taking Rory's hand with more force than was necessary.

His jaw dropped and he looked back and forth between the two girls, obviously caught off guard.

'You're her...?' he trailed off.  
>'Girlfriend,' she stated matter-of-factly, giving his hand another tight squeeze for good measure. 'Now grab your stuff if you want a ride Irish. I don't have all day to baby-sit,' she finished condescendingly.<p>

He shuffled uncomfortable under her intense gaze and shook his hand free.

'O-ok,' he stuttered, 'thanks.'

With that he walked out nervously to go get his backpack.

'Santana,' the blonde said warningly, shaking her head in disapproval.  
>'What?' the latina defended in staged innocence, 'I was nice.'<br>'So nice,' Brittany laughed sarcastically.  
>'Mhm, sweet as a cotton candy!' Santana said adorably.<br>'Come 'ere,' the blonde whispered, pulling Santana to her by the wrist.

The latina yelped in surprise and laughed. When Brittany's hand met the back of her neck, she hummed happily in anticipation and leaned up on her toes.

'Ok, lets go!' Rory announced as he came back from his room with his backpack.

Santana sighed in frustration as she moved away from Brittany._I hate this kid already..._

...

Finn sat in his history class, staring blankly at the blackboard, trying to remember the words to Yesterday. He was shaken out of his daze when everyone around him began to shuffle their chairs around the classroom, getting ready to work in teams. He looked around for a partner, saw Rachel turn towards Quinn who held her book open for both of them and Brittany sit next to Santana who was already starting to write down their answers to the questions on the board. He suddenly felt a little nervous when he realized he didn't know anyone else in his class.

'You wanna be my partner Finn?' he heard a sweet, raspy voice ask from beside him.

He turned towards it and saw a girl he didn't recognize looking back at him. She had long died red hair and soft round features, freckles, and thin pink lips. Her skin was fair and had a Kurt-like smoothness to it. She wore a McKinley hoody and jeans and looked very laid back. She frowned at him when he didn't answer. His cheeks blushed in embarrassment, realizing that he had been staring at her.

'Uh, sure, thanks,' he finally answered.

_Thanks? Sweet Cheesus, what is wrong with me?_

'Cool,' she said as she sat casually next to him.  
>'Sorry, I didn't catch your name?' he asked politely.<p>

Her expression changed suddenly at that.

'Are you serious? Finn, we've had almost every class together since the third grade, and it's not like I'm hard to miss,' she said incredulously.  
>'Really?' he confirmed, ignoring the odd comment she had made about her size. His voice was small and guilty and she took pity, her expression softening.<br>'Wow, ok...I'm Allison. Allison McCarthy.'  
>'Oh, nice to meet you.'<p>

She smiled at his awkwardness. A slow chuckle was heard in the classroom, and Finn turned towards its source, recognizing it instantly.

'Someone you like?' the redhead questioned.  
>'My ex actually. She uh, she dumped me last week,' he answered bitterly.<br>'Why?' she asked curiously.  
>'She said that she loved me and that I would always be special to her but that she just wasn't in love with me anymore. Or at least, not the way she said she thought I deserved. And that was it.'<p>

He felt the words sting as they passed through his throat, every one making it more real. Rachel didn't love him anymore.

'Would you have preferred she lied to you?' Allison said softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He paused for a moment at the unexpected question. He thought about it. He had had the feeling that they were drifting apart over the summer, but had chosen to ignore the nagging feeling repeatedly.

'No,' he answered in a voice he barely recognized as his own, realizing that tears had gathered in his eyes.  
>'It's ok to be sad Finn. It's ok to be hurt too. But you should express that, you know? Get it out of your system, and then you can start moving on with your life.' she continued encouragingly, rubbing small circles onto his back.<br>'Thank you,' he said sincerely, moved by her kindness towards him.

The bell rang then and his face turned to panic.

'Alright, everybody hand in their answers at the front of the class on your way out. If you did it in teams, make sure both your names are on your answer sheet!' the professor commanded loudly over the noises of students moving everything back to its original position.

Finn turned to Allison to apologize, but she held her hand out in front of his mouth in anticipation and smiled.

'No worries Hudson, I already did it,' she reassured him confidently, pulling out her answer sheet. 'Just write your name on it.'  
>'Oh thanks!' he said relieved. As he wrote his name down though, a thought crossed his mind. 'But wait...if you'd done it already, why did you team up with me?'<br>'You looked like you needed the company,' she said kindly, taking the answer sheet with both their names on it and walking away.

...

'First day of Beatles week guys! Yeeeaaaah!' mr Schue exclaimed loudly, sounding hip in his own mind while coming off as the dork that he was to his classroom. 'Everyone give our new member, Sugar, a warm welcome!'

Everyone applauded politely and Brittany whistled and pumped her fist in the air.

'Thank you,' Sugar said simply in the most arrogant tone she could muster.  
>'So, who's got a song ready today?' mr Schue continued, trying to keep the momentum.<p>

Brittany and Finn's hands shot up in the air at the same time. Santana rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance.

'Ok, hey! No, fighting! Just rock, paper, scissors for it,' Mercedes suggested.  
>'I got this,' Brittany assured Santana, turning to Finn with a competitive look in her eyes.<p>

Finn scuffed at the challenge. The tension built around them as they threw their fists up between each other and shook them up and down three times. It was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes at the drama of it all. Finn extended his hand flatly while Brittany made a scissor shape at the same time. She clapped her hands once in celebration and pulled her tongue at him. He couldn't help but smile at the childish gesture and sat back to watch her perform. She moved to the front of the class while mr Schue took his usual seat to watch. Brittany cleared her throat shyly. Puck quickly followed her with his guitar, winking at Santana, letting her know she was in for a good surprise. He sat down on a stool and began to pluck the strings of his guitar. Brittany stood still, wringing her hands together and taking a deep breath before beginning softly, her eyes fixed on Santana.

_I give her all my love_  
><em>That's all I do<em>

Her eyes scanned every other face in the room as she continued.

_And if you saw my love_  
><em>You'd love her too<em>  
><em>I love her<em>

Sugar watched in amazement, her hands covering her mouth. She first looked back and forth between Brittany and Santana, and then turned to Quinn with a moved smile. Quinn furrowed her brows at her but smiled back nonetheless and rubbed a hand on her shoulder almost protectively, a gesture which came to her oddly naturally. Santana's mouth dropped in an 'o' shape as she watched Brittany lovingly. She struggled to hold her gaze, clearly overcome by the feeling.

_She gives me everything_  
><em>And tenderly<em>  
><em>The kiss my lover brings<em>  
><em>She brings to me<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>

Her voice wavered slightly, but she held her composure. Her eyes shone with adoration, and for just one moment, it felt as though they were alone. Just the two of them.

_A love like ours_  
><em>Could never die<em>  
><em>As long as I<em>  
><em>Have you near me<em>

Quinn and Mercedes looked on at both girls proudly. Artie shuffled in his chair, visibly uneasy. Sam smirked at the girls simply while Finn smiled sadly. Tina sighed and leaned onto Mike's shoulder who wrapped his arm around her sweetly.

_Bright are the stars that shine_  
><em>Dark is the sky<em>  
><em>I know this love of mine<em>  
><em>Will never die<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>

Puck softly slid his fingers across the neck of the guitar. Trying his best to do Brittany's feelings justice, he played with a quiet gentleness and Santana sighed.

_Bright are the stars that shine_  
><em>Dark is the sky<em>  
><em>I know this love of mine<em>  
><em>Will never die<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>

The guitar faded out slowly. The room remained quiet until Puck has plucked the final note. As soon as the song had come to an end, Santana got up from her seat and practically ran into Brittany's arms, holding her close.

'Thank you. That was so beautiful,' she whispered into her shoulder, 'God, you're so beautiful.'

The sound was muffled and hidden beneath all of the applause, still Brittany felt heat rush to her face and blushed furiously but held the latina close.

'Woooow,' Sugar commented dreamily.

Santana was too happy to notice the strangeness in the compliment and simply looked at Brittany proudly while the blonde thanked her.

'Ok, you're up Finn,' Santana said more nicely than anyone had ever heard her.

Finn's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Mercedes chuckled.

'It's like Brittany tamed her!' she joked.  
>'Shut it wheezy!' Santana bit back, before being soothed Brittany's hand rubbing circles on her lower back and leading her back to their seats.<p>

Her body visibly relaxed and Mercedes' stifled a laugh. Santana huffed but no longer argued. Finn moved to the front of the class and began to move the drum set to the center of the room. Once he was finished, he sat behind it, drum sticks in hand and took in a deep breath.

'I've gotten back into drumming recently and, uh, I'm trying this new thing where I really express my emotions instead of letting them bottle up inside. So, this song is kind of a part of that. I hope you like it,' he spoke nervously to the room, but especially to his mentor, mr Schue.

_Oh darlin!_  
><em>Please believe me!<em>  
><em>I'll never do you no harm<em>  
><em>Believe me when I tell you<em>  
><em>I'll never do you no harm<em>

His arms hit the drums passionately and his voice rang across the room with a rough quality they had never heard in him.

_Oh darlin!_  
><em>If you leave me!<em>

The girls began to sing a few background vocals for him.

_I'll never make it alone_  
><em>Believe me when I beg you<em>  
><em>Don't ever leave me alone<em>

He energetically tore at the drum set and when his voice returned, it was pleading, desperate and raw.

_When you told me_  
><em>You didn't need me anymore!<em>  
><em>Well you know I nearly broke down and cried<em>

_When you told me!_  
><em>You didn't need me anymore!<em>  
><em>Well you know I nearly fell down and di-i-ied!<em>

Mike air drummed to the song while everyone looked on at the performance, impressed by Finn's progress.

_Oh darlin!_  
><em>If you leave me!<em>  
><em>I'll never make it alone<em>

_Believe me when I tell you_  
><em>I'll never do you no harm<em>

Finn locked eyes with Rachel as he continued, more passionately than ever.

_When you told me_  
><em>You didn't need me anymore!<em>  
><em>Well you know I nearly broke down and cried<em>

_When you told me!_  
><em>You didn't need me anymore!<em>  
><em>Well you know I nearly fell down and di-i-ied!<em>

His voice was a little strung from the performance as he finished, but this only added to the quality of it, in the end, and everyone cheered him on as he continued.

_Oh darlin!_  
><em>Please believe me!<em>  
><em>I'll never let you down<em>

_Believe me when I tell you_  
><em>I'll never do you no harm!<em>

He hit the drums in time until the end of the song, when he put the sticks down and stood up, ready for whatever criticism they might send his way. To everyone's surprise, Rachel got up from her seat then. Quinn observed the scene, an indescribable expression in her eyes. Rachel walked up to Finn and wrapped her arms around his torso.

'Finn, that was amazing,' she said encouragingly, but in a way that could only be described as friendly. Finn swallowed back the emotions that were threatening to overcome him.

_And then you can start moving on with your life._

'Thanks Rachel,' he gratefully returned, and when he did, he felt for the first time in weeks that things were just as they should be.

...

'So, do you guys want to come over to my place later? I was thinking we could watch Chicago and work on our audition pieces,' Brittany asked her friends hopefully as they walked towards their lockers.

Santana, Brittany, and Quinn had had adjoining lockers since they had first become friends in the sixth grade. Mercedes' locker was a little further down the hall, but she had taken the habit of walking down with them, arms laced together in a tight chain.

'You guys could meet Rory! He's a new foreign exchange student staying at my house right now. I'm kind of trying to help him make friends,' she continued excitedly.  
>'Sure, why not,' Quinn agreed.<br>'Yeah, we can have a girls' night,' Mercedes joined in.  
>'Oh! You guys could sleep over! We'll let you in on our sleepover rituals,' Brittany told<p>

Mercedes who looked at her suspiciously.

'Rituals? Britt, that sounds kind of creepy...'  
>'No! No, it's really cool! It's like-'<p>

Santana stopped dead in her tracks, tugging Brittany back in the process. The blonde looked at Santana questioningly and her expression fell. Santana's face was pale. Her eyes stared at something ahead of them with a cool numbness that almost scared her. It was a look she'd never seen before. She followed Santana's gaze until she saw what the latina had noticed before her. She saw their lockers, hers, Quinn's, and Santana's between the two. Bold red letters were spray painted across them. The larger part of the word was splayed across Santana's locker, clearly the intended target.

_DIKE_

Something heavy burned into the back of the blonde's throat and she swallowed dryly trying to make the feeling pass. Her vision blurred suddenly. Her eyes scanned the hallway for the culprit.

'Cmon guys, lets just go talk to Figgins.'

Quinn's words came out as a whisper. Brittany heard a snicker. Then another. Then, she saw a group of football players across the hall from them smirking at the scene and scanning Santana's body with their eyes. _Her _Santana.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed and she felt anger boil within her. She tried to move forward, but Santana held her firmly into place. Quinn turned her body towards them, pushing gently, as if to shelter them.

'Guys, cmon lets go,' she repeated.

Brittany looked over at Santana. Her head was tilted down and the blonde couldn't see her face through her tears and the latina's hair, but she could feel her trembling.

'San,' she choked out.

She felt her shiver. Her voice woke Santana from her daze, but the latina only shook her head, slowly at first, then quickly, as if refusing to accept the sight before them. Her breathing quickened. She released Brittany's arm, turned around and walked away in the opposite direction, shoving through the crowd of students that had formed around her locker.

'San!'

Santana took to running. Brittany chased after her, leaving Mercedes and Quinn behind.


	4. Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Pt 2

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. The songs used in this chapter are the property of Sony/ATV, I think. In order, the songs used in this chapter are Hey Jude (the Across the Universe cover), From Me To You (the Walk off the Earth cover), She Loves You (the drumbum12191 cover on youtube), Revolution (again, the Across the Universe cover), You're Going to Lose That Girl, and You've Got To Hide Your Love Away. I strongly suggest you look them up on youtube and listen to them as you read, or better yet, listen to them on my 8tracks mix: 8trackscom/burtonfan23/sgt-sugar-s-lonely-hearts-club-band-pt-1-and-2 (they don't allow posting a link on this site so...follow your instincts and ad a dot to that address). Oh, on a side note, I've cast Sofia Vergara as mama Lopez, just so you know ;)

The M rating will begin to apply next chapter. Please review and enjoy! ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Part 2<strong>

'You guys could meet Rory! He's a new foreign exchange student staying at my house right now. I'm kind of trying to help him make friends,' Brittany excitedly suggested to her friends.

Santana grinned at the blonde's innocent joyful tone.

'Sure, why not,' Quinn agreed, knowing how happy something so simple would make her friend.  
>'Yeah, we can have a girls' night,' Mercedes joined in.<p>

Santana narrowed her eyes when she noticed the crowd of students grouped around their lockers. She stretched her neck, trying to see what all the commotion was about. Someone walking in the opposite direction shoved her on her right side. She looked back with a scowl just fast enough to catch the look of mockery on the other girl's face.

'Oh! You guys could sleep over! We'll let you in on our sleepover rituals,' Brittany rambled on.

Santana turned her attention back to the front. She noticed how they all stared at her and whispered between themselves. Some of them were visibly trying to suppress laughter.

'Rituals? Britt, that sounds kind of creepy...' Mercedes said suspiciously.

That's when she saw it.

_DIKE_

All at once, she felt the blood drain from her face, and an unbearable numbness overtake her body. She felt her world come to a halt. Everyone could see her. She was completely exposed. Everyone could see her now...and they were laughing, and pointing, and sneering...

She should move. She ought to do something. She willed herself to get out of there, to escape their prying eyes, but her body was unresponsive. It was as though everything was disconnected. She tried to focus her attention on something, anything. Her eyes bore into the white ballerina shoes in front of her black leather boots. Who's shoes were those? Quinn's? She hadn't even realized that she had lowered her head.

She was vaguely aware of someone pushing her shoulder gently. Someone tugging at her left arm.

'San,' Brittany's voice called next to her. It was so soft and pleading, barely there.

It brought Santana back from her daze. She felt the warm wetness on her cheeks, saw the hungry gazes with which a few football players across the hall were looking up and down her body. She felt her limbs come back to life. She shook her head trying to dissipate the clouds over her eyes and before she knew it, her body was retreating. She walked at first, then ran, needing to be away from it. She needed to be away from all of it.

'San!'

...

'Santana stop!' Brittany called after her.

They had run out of the school and into the parking lot. Here, the brunette finally relented, exhausted. She leaned her back against a car and slid down to the floor. Brittany knelt down next to her, concern written on her face.

'San...'

Brittany wasn't sure what words she should use. Santana had always been better with words. She carefully slid her arms around her waist, pulling Santana tightly against her. She peppered her girlfriend's shoulder with gentle kisses, trying to reassure her.

'It's ok,' she whispered softly in between kisses. 'We're ok.'

The quiver in Brittany's voice betrayed her frailty. Brittany could feel Santana shaking still, and her skin was so cold beneath her lips. But she persisted.

'I love you so much,' she whispered next, and continued to repeat the words between gentle kisses.

A shaken sob escaped Santana. Brittany felt a throb in her throat at the sound. Santana shook more violently in her arms as painful tears began to stream down her cheeks. Brittany held her tighter, wishing that she could pull Santana even further into her, into a place where she could keep her safe. Brittany thought that maybe Santana felt the same way because the brunette turned around suddenly and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck, burying her face into her shoulder, crying silently.

'Shhh, I've got you. You're ok honey. I've got you,' Brittany repeated, trying to soothe her.  
>'Santana?' a familiar voice called hesitantly.<p>

Santana looked up at Kurt but didn't answer right away. His expression was a strange blend of concern, sympathy, and fear.

'What you want popple?' she croaked, her voice rough and exhausted, but not aggressive.

Both Kurt and Brittany breathed a sigh of relief then. Brittany couldn't help the small relieved giggle that escaped her. Santana would always be Santana.

'Cmon, I'll drive you home,' he suggested sweetly.

He reached for his key-chain and unlocked the doors to the car they were leaning on. He outstretched his hand and pulled Santana to her feet.

'It's ok, I can take her,' Brittany said gratefully.

He seemed prepared to accept this when Santana spoke again.

'Britt, you should go to class. I kind of want to be alone right now anyway...if that's ok,' she said carefully, her voice still hoarse from crying. 'I just...I need a bit of time to think about things...by myself.'

Both Brittany and Kurt were taken aback by this. In all the years that they had known each other, never had Santana asked to be away from her.

'Think about things...' Brittany repeated questioningly, her brows knit together. 'What is there to think about?'

Santana avoided her gaze and didn't answer. Brittany suddenly felt nauseous and dizzy.

'I just- I just need...'  
>'What is there to think about Santana?' Brittany asked disbelievingly.<p>

Kurt jumped at her tone and volume. Santana looked away, tears once again gathering in her eyes.

'Britt, I'll call you later ok? I just need to be by myself for a little bit.'

Brittany turned on her heels so that Santana wouldn't see her face, and walked back into the school. Santana saw the blonde's hands tremble as she pushed the doors open and had to look away. Kurt opened the passenger door and gently nudged Santana in.

...

Kurt was quiet. Santana waited for him to put his two cents in, more than ready to rebuff any and all attempt to put his dainty nose in her business, but he never did, so after a few minutes she gave up and finally relaxed into her seat. After a few more minutes, the silence started to make her uneasy, so she pressed play on the car stereo. _Shit, it's probably showtunes_.

She was surprised when she heard the beginning notes of a familiar song. Kurt sang along softly.

_Hey Jude_  
><em>Don't make it bad<em>  
><em>Take a sad song and make it better<em>

Santana swallowed stiffly, her mind drifting to deep blue eyes.

_Remember to let her into your heart_  
><em>Then you can start to make it better<em>

_Hey Jude_  
><em>Don't be afraid<em>  
><em>You were made to go out and get her<em>  
><em>The minute you let her under your skin<em>  
><em>Then you begin to make it better<em>

Santana looked out the passenger window trying to ignore the weight she felt in her chest.

_And anytime you feel the pain_  
><em>Hey Jude refrain<em>  
><em>Don't carry the world upon your shoulders<em>

At the stop light, Kurt reached across the center console and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

_For well you know that it's a fool_  
><em>Who plays it cool<em>  
><em>By making his world a little colder<em>

She wanted to shrug him off, but she couldn't bring herself to. She needed the comfort, and was too tired to deny it to herself.

_Na na na na na, na na na na_

_Hey Jude_  
><em>Don't let me down<em>  
><em>You have found her, now go and get her<em>

She nodded and exhaled slowly, harmonizing with Kurt to his surprise.

_(Let it out to let it in)_

_Remember to let her into your heart_  
><em>Then you can start to make it<em>

As the song picked up, Kurt began singing louder and louder, understanding that Santana needed to vent, to be rid of it all. She chimed in, smiling lightly.

_Better, better, better, beTTER, BETTER, BETTER, AAAAAAAAH!_

As Kurt pulled up in front of Santana's house, they sang and shouted along ridiculously to the end of the song, completely letting go of themselves, of all of the pent up emotions of the day.

_Na na na na na na na, na na na na_  
><em>Hey Jude<em>  
><em>Na na na na na na na, na na na na<em>  
><em>Hey Jude<em>  
><em>Na na na na na na na, na na na na<em>  
><em>Hey Jude...<em>

Kurt smiled at Santana kindly as she stepped out of the car. She looked back at him gratefully. He watched her walk up to the front door, her head held high, and let herself in as he pulled out of the driveway, still humming the last few notes of the song.

...

'Wow, is she ok?' Blaine asked Kurt, who was sitting across from him at the Lima Bean.  
>'I think so, I mean, she looked a little shaken but who wouldn't be?' Kurt answered. 'There's something about Santana though. I don't think she's gonna take this lying down-'<br>'Dirty,' Blaine cut in with a smirk.  
>Kurt gave him a severe look. 'Anyway, I think she's gonna be the one to fight back. I think if we all stand by her,' he continued enthusiastically, 'I don't know, maybe we could finally teach those unwashed miscreants at school a lesson.'<br>'Unwashed miscreants? Really Kurt?' Blaine said skeptically, then taking a concerned tone that, to Kurt, sounded condescending, he continued, 'do you really think that's a good idea though? You don't want to go around asking for trouble. I mean, look what happened to us...'  
>'Exactly!' Kurt answered, sounding upset, 'Isn't it about time somebody changed all that? If we never fight back, things are never going to change!'<br>'Kurt, we all want to change things for the better but it isn't that simple. This could get dangerous. You could get hurt,' Blaine pressed on with the same tone that nagged at Kurt's pride.  
>'Someone has to be brave enough to take a stand,' Kurt answered in a calm anger his boyfriend recognized, 'and if Santana wants to fight back, I'm going to help her in any way I can. You of all people should be supportive of that!'<p>

With that, Kurt got up and walked out of the coffee shop while Blaine sighed and rubbed his temple with his hand.

...

'I'll take Santana, you take Brittany?' Mercedes suggested, responding to what she knew Quinn was thinking about.

Quinn sighed and nodded, holding her cup of tea closer. They were sitting in Mercedes' living room, both worried about their friends. Brittany had looked completely lost in thought all afternoon and Santana had left early.

'They're gonna be ok, right?' Quinn asked quietly.

Mercedes comfortingly placed her hand on Quinn's knee. 'Yeah, we'll make sure of that,' she answered confidently. 'What about you though, Q? You ok?'

Quinn frowned in confusion, 'why wouldn't I be?'  
>'Cmon Quinn. Shelby's coming back to town, and we both know what that means,' Mercedes told her gently.<br>'I'm...' Quinn paused for a second, as if changing her mind as to what she wanted to say. 'I'm not sure, but I will be,' she finally settled for.  
>'Well, if you need to talk, you know where to find me,' Mercedes said reassuringly.<br>'Thanks girl,' Quinn replied sincerely.

The blonde lifted her fist between them and Mercedes bumped it with her own. At the contact, they both opened their hands, releasing air from their mouths to make the sound of an explosion. They grinned at each other in that way that friends have when they're in on a secret.

...

'Puck! What are you doing?' Mercedes hissed.  
>'Shhhh! Her dad can't see me here! The guy has a hunting rifle in his shed!' he whispered back, looking nervous.<br>'Are you insane? His car isn't even here! She's probably home alone! Puck!' she whispered back as she watched him scale the wall to Santana's window using the rain gutter.

At that moment, Mrs Lopez swung the door open. Mercedes straightened her back suddenly and was forced to look away from Puck.

'Mrs Lopez! Hi-is-Santana-home?' Mercedes asked a little too quickly.

The latina squinted at her suspiciously. Santana's mom was wearing a tight, lizard print top, leggings and large hoop earrings. If she hadn't known any better, Mercedes would have thought that she was going to some kind of classy dinner, but Santana's mother always looked like she was ready for a special event.

'Who are you?' she asked.  
>'I, uh, I'm a friend of hers...from school. We've met before, remember? I'm Mercedes...' she explained nervously.<br>'Aaaaah sí ya me acuerdo! Come in,' she greeted nicely moving aside to let Mercedes in. The woman then turned towards the staircase. 'SANTANA!'

Mercedes jumped from the sheer force of it. Mrs Lopez smiled back at her, as if she hadn't just released a shout worthy of a banshee.

'SANTANA! Aquí está tu amiga! Santanaaa!'  
>'Qual amiga?' she heard Santana reply in slight annoyance.<br>'La gritona!' her mother yelled back, 'alli te la mando!' Then turning to Mercedes, 'she's in her room, you go on ahead.'  
>'Ok, thank you,' Mercedes answered politely, a little shocked.<p>

She went up the stairs quietly and knocked on Santana's door.

'Santana?' she tried softly as she opened the door.

She was then met with the sight of Santana trying to help Puck into her room through the window. He lost his balance as he climbed in and fell with a loud thump onto the floor along with the ukelele that he had strapped to his back.

'QUE PASO?' Mrs Lopez called from the first floor.  
>'Nada mamí!' Santana answered equally loudly.<br>'Cómo que nada?' her mother answered, angrily marching up the stairs.

In their panic, Puck crawled under Santana's bed, while Santana quickly rearranged the few things on her dresser that he had inadvertently knocked over and straightened her back and hair.

'Que paso?' Mrs Lopez asked again, less loud but more suspicious.  
>'Nada mamí...she just startled me and I dropped something...' Santana lied.<p>

Her mother considered this for a second before nodding and going back down. Mercedes couldn't help but giggle once she was out of earshot.

'You guys have done this before haven't you?' she commented, as Puck slid out from under the bed and Santana sighed in relief.  
>'Shut the door Aretha,' Santana whispered in a half-laughter. 'What are you guys even doing here?'<p>

Mercedes shut the door and went to sit down next to Santana on her bed while Puck sat across from them, on her desk chair.

'We were worried about you girl. What happened today...that shouldn't have happened,' Mercedes began.

Santana looked down, her smile fading completely.

'Guys, I did something really stupid today...' she confessed painfully, running her fingers through her hair. Her friends saw the small swell around her eyes and realized she had been crying. 'I told Brittany I needed some time alone to think...I think she thinks I want to break up, but I don't! I just...I got scared and I freaked out and I pushed her away cause...' she sighed, 'cause I'm a bitch and that's what I do, but I don't want to be, I just-'  
>'Santana,' Mercedes interrupted, 'hey, look at me. What happened today sucked, but you're better than those people. We can fight back! We'll all help you. And Britt? She loves you. So just apologize to her, and I'm sure you guys'll be fine.'<br>'And if you need anything, the Puckster and Mercedes are at your service! In fact, we brought a little something to cheer you up,' Puck said.  
>'I appreciate it guys,' Santana answered with a small smile, 'but Puck, you do know my dad is going to murder you if he finds you in here right?'<br>Puck swallowed loudly and nodded apprehensively. 'Which is why we're going to cheer you up really quietly...'

He pulled his ukelele onto his lap and began picking the chords gently. He then began to sing more softly than Santana had ever heard him.

_If there's anything that you want_

Mercedes joined in with the second line.

_If there's anything I can do_

They harmonized as they continued to serenade her.

_Just call on me_  
><em>And I'll send it along <em>

_With love_  
><em>From me to you<em>

A small smile crept back onto Santana's face at her friends' sweet gesture. Something in her felt stronger because of it. Mercedes reached over and slid a stray strand of hair behind the latina's ear.

_I got everything that you want_  
><em>Like a heart that's oh so true<em>  
><em>Just call on me<em>  
><em>And I'll send it along<em>

_With love_  
><em>From me to you<em>

She thought of Brittany and everything they had been through, and she missed her in that moment, regretting her earlier actions deeply.

_I got arms that long to hold you_  
><em>And keep you by my side<em>  
><em>I got lips that long to kiss you<em>  
><em>And keep you satisfied<em>

Puck sang so quietly that Santana couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't believe the trouble they had gone through.

_If there's anything that you want_  
><em>If there's anything I can do<em>

Mercedes wrapped her arm around Santana's shoulders and began to move her from side to side to the beat.

_Just call on me_  
><em>And I'll send it along<em>

_With love_  
><em>From me to you<em>

Puck nudged her foot with his, trying to get her to smile.

_Just call on me_  
><em>And I'll send it along<em>

_With love_  
><em>From me to you<em>

_I got arms that long to hold you_  
><em>And keep you by my side<em>  
><em>I got lips that long to kiss you<em>  
><em>And keep you satisfied<em>

Santana smiled widely at how adorable her friends were. In spite of everything, she was thankful.

_If there's anything that you want_  
><em>If there's anything I can do<em>  
><em>Just call on me<em>  
><em>And I'll send it along<em>

_With love_  
><em>From me to you<em>

_To you_  
><em>To you<em>  
><em>With love<em>  
><em>From me to you<em>

Just as Puck strum the last chord, the door of Santana's room swung open.

'AHA! Ya sabía! Fuera de esta casa!' Mrs Lopez marched into the room and pulled Puck by the ear. 'You cowardsome hijo de puta! You're lucky my husband isn't home! Out of my house!'

Santana and Mercedes burst into a fit of laughter at the terrified expression on his face as Santana's mother escorted him out.

...

Quinn rang the doorbell and waited patiently. Artie looked up at her, confused.

'Quinn, why did you ask me to come with you?' he asked suspiciously.  
>'Look Artie, I know we've never really talked, but I know you care about Britt and she needs friends right now,' she answered.<br>'Yeah...friends...' he repeated bitterly.

Quinn looked at him questioningly, but before she could interrogate him, someone opened the door.

'Hey Ash, is Brittany home?' Quinn asked.  
>'Hey Q!' Ashley greeted almost too excitedly. She looked more and more like Brittany every day. 'She's upstairs,' she answered and then paused noticing Artie. 'Uh...what?...Is this about him though? I mean, I'm totally biased, but I'm really rooting for San here.'<p>

Artie looked back up at Quinn angrily.

'No worries,' she answered uncomfortably, 'we're just here to cheer up Britt, she kind of had a rough day.'  
>'Ok, well she's in her room. I think she might be taking a nap though but I'm sure she'll be happy to see you guys,' she answered and moved to let them in.<p>

Quinn looked up the stairs and then back at Artie.

'...how did you even get up there when you were dating Britt?' she wondered out loud.  
>'Usually, my dad would help him up, but it's date night so he's actually out with my mom right now...' Ashley explained.<br>Artie sighed, 'it won't be easy...'

_16 and a half minutes later..._

'Oh my God!' Quinn exclaimed, completely out of breath, as she finally pushed Artie up the last step. 'Oh my God!'  
>'Blasphemy,' he breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath.<br>She laughed breathlessly. 'Remind me never to bring you here again!'  
>'This was your idea,' he replied, unable to keep from laughing.<p>

Ashley was at the bottom of the stairs. She laughed so hard she cried.

'Oh my God! I think I peed a little bit!'

At that, they broke into a fit of laughter. Brittany walked out of her room, awakened by all the commotion.

'What's going on?' she asked sleepily.  
>'Britt!' Quinn beamed at her, 'hi honey bee, we just came by to hang out. I know today was really sucky-'<br>'Really sucky,' Brittany repeated, still a little sleepy.  
>'But we're here to make you feel better so, you know, we can talk, or not talk, whatever you want,' Quinn walked up to Brittany and gently rubbed the girl's shoulders.<br>'Yeah ok I guess we can talk,' Brittany turned to lead them to her room.

Quinn and Brittany went to sit on her bed while Artie rolled up next to them. There was a UCLA sweatshirt on her pillow, and as soon as she sat down, Brittany gathered it up in her arms as if it were a stuffed animal.

'It smells like her,' she whispered. Artie felt a slight sting at that.  
>'B, you know, she probably just freaked out,' Quinn tried to explain, 'Santana loves you, you know that. But what happened today-'<br>'She shut me out Quinn,' Brittany interrupted flatly.'Every time something goes wrong she shuts me out and I'm so tired of it. I don't want things to be perfect, I just want her to love me and let me love her.'  
>'Honey, she'll get there. It's just hard for her, you know?' Quinn said softly, reaching out to run her fingers through Brittany's hair. Brittany softened and lied down so that she could lay her head on Quinn's lap. Artie reached over and took her hand in his comfortingly.<br>'Sometimes I feel like she's still punishing me for last year,' Brittany let out.  
>'What happened last year?' Artie asked curiously.<br>Brittany paused hesitantly before answering, 'she told me that she was in love with me, and I chose you...'

Artie froze. This whole time, he thought that the girls had just been fooling around behind his back, but now he saw that it was more complicated than that. A long silence followed the revelation, and soon, Quinn began to sing slowly while still running her fingers through Brittany's hair.

_She loves you_  
><em>Yeah, yeah, yeah<em>  
><em>She loves you<em>  
><em>Yeah, yeah, yeah<em>  
><em>She loves you<em>  
><em>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<em>

Seeing the hope in Brittany's eyes at the sound, Artie joined in, harmonizing.

_You think you've lost your love_  
><em>Well I saw her yesterday<em>  
><em>It's you she's thinking of<em>  
><em>And she told me what to say<em>

_She said she loves you_  
><em>And you know that can't be bad<em>  
><em>Yeah, she loves you<em>  
><em>And you know you should be glad<em>

Brittany closed her eyes and breathed in deeply the scent of the sweatshirt and the comfort of her friends.

_She said you hurt her soul_  
><em>She almost lost her mind<em>  
><em>But now she said she knows<em>  
><em>You're not the hurting kind<em>

_She said she loves you_  
><em>And you know that can't be bad<em>  
><em>Yeah, she loves you<em>  
><em>And you know you should be glad<em>

_She loves you  
>Yeah, yeah, yeah<em>  
><em>She loves you<br>Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_With a love like that_  
><em>You know you should be glad<em>  
><em>With a love like that<em>  
><em>You know you should be glad<em>  
><em>With a love like that<em>  
><em>You know you should be glad<em>

'Everything's gonna be ok Britt,' Artie said reassuringly, caressing the back of her palm with his thumb.

Slowly, they lulled Brittany back to sleep. When Brittany's parents came home, they found their daughter nuzzled onto Quinn's side and Artie watching them. He had a thoughtful look about him, and the sight made Brittany's father think of a faithful watchdog, guarding something precious.

'You ok son?' he whispered as he walked into the room. Mrs Pierce walked up to the girls and tucked them in.  
>'Yeah,' Artie smiled up at him, 'but could you help me back downstairs? The girls fell asleep and I didn't want to wake them up.'<p>

Mr Pierce gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder and chuckled.

'Cmon son, I'll take you home.'

...

The next morning, Quinn saw Santana leaning against their lockers nervously waiting for Brittany, the bold red letters still behind her. She was wearing a loose white blouse and black jeans. When she saw the blonde approaching, her face softened into a smile, but right at that moment...

'DYKE!'

The ice hit the latina like a slap in the face. The cold red drink dripped onto her shirt and Quinn rushed to her, taking her hand to lead her to a bathroom.

'Get out,' she announced as she walked into the bathroom with her friend. The other girls filed out obediently.

The latina leaned over the sink and Quinn drenched a piece of brown paper and started to help Santana clean the slushi from her face. The brunette let out an exasperated sigh.

'I hate this school!' she yelled in frustration, slamming her palms onto the bathroom counter. 'I think it's about time I showed these baboons how we do it in Lima Heights!'  
>'I think it's about time we all started fighting back,' Quinn answered calmly, 'but first, you need to talk to Brittany, honey.'<br>'Yeah, I know,' Santana answered more calmly, biting her lower lip.

The bell rang just as Santana got the last bit of slushi out of her hair. Quinn gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before heading out.

'I'll see you in Glee club S,' she called back.

Santana stared at her own reflection.

...

When she walked into Glee club that afternoon, she went straight for her usual seat next to Brittany.

'San, I waited for you to call me last ni...what happened?' she asked, looking down at the latina's stained white shirt, her expression shifting to worry.  
>'I'll tell you after Glee club ok baby? Right now, I just want to be with you,' Santana said, leaning into her, already exhausted.<p>

The blonde wrapped her arm protectively around her waist but didn't say anything.

'Alright guys! We have some very exciting news today!' mr Schue announced as he walked into the choir room. 'We have another audition.'

Whispers went around the room at the announcement.

'So, without further ado, I would like to introduce,' everyone leaned in expectantly, 'Blaine Anderson!'

Mr Schue clapped with enthusiasm, as did many others in the room, tapping Kurt on the back in congratulations. Rachel gasped in happy surprise. Kurt watched Blaine strut through the door in complete shock.

'Blaine, what are you doing here?' Kurt asked suddenly.

Everyone turned to him, surprised by the outburst. Blaine cleared his throat.

'Well, I've been thinking about transferring here all summer. You know, it's senior year and I want to be close to you Kurt,' he said sincerely. 'I don't know what's gonna happen, but I do know that I want to be here to support you and, if necessary, to protect you no matter what.'

Kurt's jaw dropped at that and his eyes glazed over, moved by the gesture.

'I still have some papers to fill out with my dad but, I should be officially transferring here next week,' he explained.  
>'Wait, so you're skipping class right now?' Mike asked quietly.<p>

Blaine continued, disregarding the question, 'I heard you guys were doing The Beatles this week so, I'll be singing a Beatles song for my audition.'

He signaled mr Schue who pressed play on the small boom box at the front. The sound of an electric guitar immediately spread through the room, and Blaine moved towards Kurt with a pleading expression on his face.

_You say you want a revolution_  
><em>Well, you know<em>  
><em>We all want to change the world<em>

_You tell me that it's evolution_  
><em>Well, you know<em>  
><em>We all want to change the world<em>

He took Kurt's hand in his as he sang the next few lines.

_But when you talk about destruction_  
><em>Don't you know that you can count me out?<em>

_Don't you know it's gonna be alright?_

Turning to Santana sympathetically, he continued.

_You know, it's gonna be alright_  
><em>You know, it's gonna be alright<em>

He went around the room as he sang, moving along to the words.

_You say you'll change the constitution_  
><em>Well, you know<em>  
><em>We all want to change your head<em>

_You tell me it's the institution_  
><em>Well, you know<em>  
><em>You better free your mind instead<em>

_But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao_  
><em>You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow<em>

_Don't you know it's gonna be alright?_  
><em>You know it's gonna be alright<em>  
><em>You know it's gonna be alright<em>

He went back to the center of the room to belt out the last few words of the song.

_Alriiight, alriiiigh, alriiight, alriiiight, so riiight, so riiight_

Mr Schue clapped enthusiastically and everyone soon followed suit, clapping politely. He then walked up next to Blaine.

Offering a hand to him he said, 'I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say, welcome to the New Directions, Blaine Anderson!'  
>'What? How come I had to wait?...' Sugar complained under the celebratory commotion that followed mr Schue's announcement. She pouted and Brittany reached over rubbed her back comfortingly. Surprisingly, the girl suddenly looked up at her with a brilliant smile on her face. Brittany frowned at the sudden change in her disposition, but said nothing.<p>

Once everyone had settled down, Blaine went to take a seat next to Kurt and mr Schue invited anyone who had prepared a routine to step forward. Artie was the first to raise his hand. He signaled the jazz band, Finn amongst them taking the drums. They began to play and prepared to sing backup while Artie began, looking straight at Santana with the same serious expression he had had the night before while watching Brittany and Quinn sleep peacefully.

_You're gonna lose that girl_  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose that girl<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>

_If you don't take her out tonight_  
><em>She's gonna change her mind<em>  
><em>(She's gonna change her mind)<em>  
><em>And I will take her out tonight<em>  
><em>And I will treat her kind<em>  
><em>(I'm gonna treat her kind)<em>

Santana worried her lip and turned to kiss Brittany lovingly on the shoulder, snuggling closer to her. The blonde leaned into her easily, lavishing in the sudden attention. Satisfied, Artie turned his chair towards Mike and Tina and looked straight at Mike as he continued.

_You're gonna lose that girl_  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose that girl<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>

_If you don't treat her right, my friend_  
><em>You're gonna find her gone<em>  
><em>(You're gonna find her gone)<em>  
><em>Cause I will treat her right, and then<em>  
><em>You'll be the lonely one<em>  
><em>(You'll be the lonely one)<em>

Mike frowned at Artie and wrapped his arm around Tina's shoulder. Artie then nodded, and to Rachel's surprise, looked straight at her.

_You're gonna lose that girl_  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose that girl<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>

_I'll make a point_  
><em>Of taking her away from you, yeah<em>  
><em>(That's what I'll do)<em>  
><em>The way you treat her what else can I do?<em>

The band went off on a guitar solo. Rachel looked at him in confusion, but then, she seemed to suddenly realize something and turned to Quinn with wide eyes. The blonde was sitting next to her, absently playing with her fingers and looking down at her hands. She looked back at Artie who gave her a knowing look.

_(You're gonna lose that girl)_

She looked back at Artie, frowning, took a deep breath, and without turning away from him, she pulled Quinn's right hand into her lap and held it. Quinn looked up at her and her face flushed instantly. She lowered her eyes but couldn't help the way her lips curled up at the sides. Artie then continued to sing looking at no-one in particular. That last interaction didn't escape neither Finn nor Puck, who both watched the girls suspiciously.

_You're going to lose that girl_  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're going to lose that girl<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're going to lose<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>

_I'll make a point_  
><em>Of taking her away from you, yeah<em>  
><em>(That's what you'll do)<em>  
><em>The way you treat her what else can I do?<em>

Artie rolled up in front of Sugar and raised his eyebrow seductively. She avoided his gaze looking suddenly extremely uncomfortable. Artie shrugged it off and finished his song, wheeling across the room and wiggling his arms to the music.

_If you don't take her out tonight_  
><em>She's gonna change her mind<em>  
><em>(She's gonna change her mind)<em>  
><em>And I will take her out tonight<em>  
><em>And I will treat her kind<em>  
><em>(You're gonna treat her kind)<em>

_You're gonna to lose that girl_  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose that girl<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>  
><em>You're gonna lose that girl <em>  
><em>(Yes, yes, you're gonna lose that girl)<em>

Artie smirked, happy with his performance, and rolled back to his usual spot in the front row as everyone applauded him.

'Great job Artie!' mr Schue praised, 'I'm so proud of how much progress you guys are making! Did anyone else have a song?'  
>'I did, mr Schue,' Santana announced, raising a shaky arm.<p>

She grabbed a stool and sat at the front. Puck followed with his guitar but sat in the back, near the band.

'I want to say something before I start,' she began, 'I'm sorry...'

A silence followed. No-one really knew what to say, and so they waited for her to continue.

'I'm sorry...I've been terrible to so many of you over the years. Especially you Rachel, and Kurt' her voice hitched at that moment and she took a moment before continuing, 'Kurt I just. I'm so sorry. But, I'm not gonna let this stand. I'm not gonna hide who I am anymore, and I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I'm going to make sure that everyone learns to respect that, to respect all of us. I was going through some Beatles songs last night and when I heard this one, it really reached something in me, and I wanted to share that with you guys.'

She turned around and nodded towards Puck who started strumming the chords of his guitar. Everyone listened intently, but none more than Brittany. She clung to every word. All of them could feel something swelling inside their chests. Pride? Strength? Inspiration? It was hard to put a finger on, but the feeling was so great, so palpable, that it seeped past their bodies and filled the space around them. That day, for the first time, Santana felt that maybe she really was a part of this family.

_Here I stand head in hand_  
><em>Turned my face to the wall<em>  
><em>If she's gone I can't go on<em>  
><em>Feeling two foot small<em>

_Everywhere, people stare_  
><em>Each and every day<em>  
><em>I can see them laugh at me<em>  
><em>And I hear them say<em>

Her voice was deep and raspy and permeated with anger and hurt, but also strength. No-one dared breathe a sound. It was as if they were afraid to frighten away this moment.

_Hey, you've got to hide your love away_  
><em>Hey, you've got to hide your love away<em>

_How can I even try_  
><em>I can never win<em>  
><em>Hearing them, seeing them<em>  
><em>In the state I'm in<em>

_How could she say to me_  
><em>Love will find a way<em>  
><em>Gather 'round all you clowns<em>  
><em>Let me hear you say<em>

_Hey, you've got to hide your love away_  
><em>Hey, you've got to hide your love away<em>

* * *

><p>I really hope you're liking this chapter so far. I finally figured out how to configure decent spacing! Yayy! So, thanks for sticking around. Please comment and review! :P I love getting feedback, it motivates me to write faster ^^ Part 3 of this chapter should be up fairly soon (sooner if you comment ahah) xoxo<p> 


	5. Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Pt 3

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. The songs used in this chapter are the property of Sony/ATV, I think. In order, this chapter's songs are If I Fell (the Across the Universe cover), While My Guitar Gently Weeps (the Across the Universe cover), New York New York (the Max Adler cover which is a cover of a Frank Sinatra cover, originally sung by Liza Minnelli, composed by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb), Because (the Across the Universe cover), In My Life (the Judy Collins cover), and With A Little Help From My Friends (also the Across The Universe cover). As usual, I strongly suggest you look them up on youtube and listen to them as you read or better yet, listen to them on my 8tracks mix: 8trackscom/burtonfan23/sgt-sugar-s-lonely-hearts-club-band-pt-3 (they don't allow posting a link on this site so...follow your instincts and add a dot to that address).. The M rating starts to apply this chapter so, fair warning, sexy times ahead ;)

Please review and enjoy! ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Sgt Sugar's Lonely Hearts Club Band Part 3<strong>

Rachel pounded the gavel energetically once she thought everyone was there.

'Settle down everyone. Before we begin, I will take attendance,' she announced seriously, looking down at the list of names placed in front of her.  
>'Is this really necessary?' Mercedes asked incredulously.<br>Rachel cleared her throat loudly before calling out the first name on the list.  
>'Artie.'<br>'Yo.'  
>'You're supposed to say present,' she corrected. 'Blaine,' she called next.<br>'Present,' he answered patiently.  
>'Finn.'<br>'Here, uh, I mean present.'  
>'Kurt.'<br>'Rachel, this is ridiculous. Can we just sta-'  
>'Mercedes!' she stubbornly persisted.<br>'Present,' Mercedes answered sighing exasperatedly.  
>'Mike.'<br>'Present,' he said nicely.  
>'Noah.'<br>'Present,' he answered indifferently.  
>'Quinn.'<p>

An awkward silence followed.

'You know, where is Quinn? I didn't see her at all this morning,' Mercedes wondered out loud.

Just then, Quinn came rushing through the doors and quickly took the seat next to Rachel that no-one seemed to especially covet.

'Sorry! Sorry, I'm late. I'm here,' she said hurriedly as she came in.  
>'That's ok,' Rachel was quick to forgive, to everyone's surprise. 'Sam.'<br>'Present,' he answered absently.  
>'Sugar,' she called with a twinge of annoyance.<br>'Present!' the girl answered all too energetically.  
>'And finally, Tina.'<br>'Present.'  
>'Alright, now that everyone is here we can start. I think you all know why I called this meeting into session?' Rachel asked expectantly.<br>'Santana,' Kurt answered confidently. 'She's one of us and she's being harassed. We have to support her and show her that we're here for her.'

Rachel nodded solemnly in agreement.

'Why?' Finn asked quietly.

Everyone turned to him in outrage.

'I mean, honestly guys, when has she ever done anything for anyone in this room?' he wondered out loud.  
>'If it wasn't for Santana, I would still be at Dalton,' Kurt responded instantly, 'but that's not the point, Finn. I'm not saying she hasn't done her share of terrible things,' he reasoned, 'but we've all done terrible things to each other at one point or another, even you. She said she's sorry, and I believe her.'<p>

Finn didn't say anything else but looked down at his hands, considering, remembering Santana's heartbreaking performance the previous day.

'Finn, you're always talking about how Glee club is a family,' Tina intervened.

He looked up at her.

'Well, Santana's a part of that family, Finn, and so is Brittany. They need us right now,' she explained gently.

There was a short heavy silence following Tina's admission. It was no secret that the group had never completely embraced Santana into the club, but with everything that had happened in the last few weeks, she seemed more than ever to belong amongst them.

'You're right,' he conceded in the end, with a sigh. 'You're right, I'm sorry. So, what's the plan?' he added with a smirk.  
>'I have an idea,' Tina suggested, smiling broadly. 'Remember our Born This Way assignment last year?'<p>

...

Santana took a deep breath before walking out onto the courtyard with her lunch tray. She spotted Brittany sitting at one of the tables farthest away from campus and started walking towards her, her heart beating furiously and her eyes darting nervously around her. Her clammy hands held on to the tray shakily. She could feel the tension in every inch of her body. It made her feel sick, but sick with herself. Santana Lopez, a _victim_. The thought alone turned her stomach, an insult to her dignity. Once she had gotten through the first set of steps, she began to think that maybe she was being paranoid and nothing was going to happen. However, just as the thought left her mind, a football player, seemingly out of nowhere, quickly walked by her, flipping the tray in her hands in the process.

'Woups! Sooo sorry 'bout that JLo! But that's ok right?' Her fists tightened at her sides and her jaw clenched, her mind raced for a comeback but came up blank. Nothing. 'The way your _girlfriend_ puts out, I'm sure you've had enough taco for breakfast to last you aaaall day long!' he taunted her loudly, high-fiving a friend as he walked away.

Two hits for her, and one for Brittany. It was a tough pill to swallow. Santana felt the sharp sting of humiliation hit her at once. Her body suddenly felt cold, and the sound of her heartbeat resounded loudly in her ears. She saw Brittany get up quickly and come towards her but, before the blonde could reach her, the calm weight of a strong reassuring hand fell upon her shoulder. Mike smiled sympathetically at her as she turned to face him.

'You must be really clumsy! Looks like you just spilled my friend's lunch,' Puck said to the football player in mock surprise. 'Guess you're gonna have to buy her a new one,' he added menacingly.

Finn and Sam took their places next to Puck, their arms crossed and their eyes threatening. Brittany had joined them at this point. Mike had moved to stand behind the latina, and Brittany stood slightly in front of her, her arm protectively shielding Santana as they watched the exchange. The football player seemed to hesitate. He looked over at his friend, but they were outnumbered. Sighing in defeat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He showed it to Puck, raising his eyebrows.

'Just trying to straighten a girl out man,' he explained defensively. Then, throwing the bill at Brittany's feet and blowing her a kiss, he added 'there you go honey. It's what I owe you for last time.'

His friend laughed and they turned to leave but Puck pulled him by the collar of his shirt while Sam and Finn grabbed his friend so that he wouldn't intervene.

'Alright that's enough,' Puck hissed angrily in the guy's ear. 'Are you going to apologize to my friends right now or do I need to teach you some manners?'  
>'Hey! Break it up!' coach Bieste's voice rang above the commotion as she came towards them.<br>'Lucky,' Puck breathed as he roughly shoved the guy away from him while Sam and Finn let go of his friend.  
>'This isn't over!' the guy threatened as he walked away from them furiously.<br>'What's going on here?' Beiste demanded to know.  
>'Coach, we can't just stand by and do nothing,' Puck explained.<br>'We went through this once with Kurt, coach,' Finn stepped forward. 'What are we supposed to do? Just sit around and let some bullies run one of us out of this school again?'

Beiste looked them over one by one. When she caught Santana's eyes, she seemed to deflate. Santana looked so small and vulnerable, nudged between Mike and Brittany.

'Violence just isn't the way, pumpkin,' Beiste tried to reason.  
>'Then what is?' Brittany cut in, her voice sharp.<p>

They all looked at her in surprise. Beiste just didn't know what else to say.

...

'There has to be something we can do!' mr Schuester insisted.  
>'Look, Will, we've been through this before! I can't do anything if there's no proof! Now, the school is going to try very hard to find out who did it, but unless someone comes forward, I can't just accuse a student without proof! The school could get sued for defamation!' mr Figgins exclaimed defensively.<br>'But we can't just do nothing! This isn't just defiling public property, it's a hate crime and a threat to all of McKinley's gay and lesbian students,' mr Schue persisted.

Principal Figgins' eyebrows shot up at the words "hate crime." Mr Schue pounced at the sight of an opening.

'Think of all the bad press the school's gonna get if this gets out, Figgins. Think of all the bad press _you_'re going to get if this gets out and it turns out you didn't do everything within your power to protect our students,' mr Schue continued.  
>'Don't threaten me William,' mr Figgins said seriously. 'Look, I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises.'<br>'It's all I'm asking for,' mr Schue conceded.

...

'How could someone do this?' Rachel whispered, looking at the graffiti sadly.

Quinn sighed as she picked her calculus books out of her locker.

'I don't know, but Santana's tough. If anyone can get through this, it's her,' she said reassuringly.

Rachel eyed her locker dreamily. Her gaze lingered on a familiar photo. There was Quinn, her sweaty blonde hair falling over her shoulders as she looked down at the baby girl wrapped carefully in her arms.

'What about you Quinn? How are you holding up?' she inquired softly.  
>'It's sweet that you guys worry,' Quinn answered carefully, 'but really, I'm fine.'<br>'But Beth-'

At the sound of the name, something in Quinn snapped.

'Look, I said I'm fine Rachel,' she dryly cut her off, slamming her locker door. At the sight of Rachel's hurt expression, she softened. 'Just drop it, ok?' she said a little less aggressively, but in a tone that left no room for discussion.

With that, she closed the lock and walked away. Rachel watched her thoughtfully as her mind slowly weeded out the hallway's endless commotion. In the safe space of her mind, she saw nothing but Quinn walking away from her. She leaned her head softly against the lockers and began to sing along to the song in her heart.

_If I fell in love with you  
>Would you promise to be true<br>And help me understand  
>Cause I've been in love before<br>And I found that love was more  
>Than just holding hands<em>

She looked at Quinn longingly, following her from a distance and watching her move gracefully.

_If I give my heart to you  
>I must be sure from the very start<br>That you  
>Would love me more than them<em>

Rachel saw her stop and hesitate for a moment, her head turning back slightly, almost as if she could hear her.

_If I trust in you  
>Oh please, don't run and hide<br>If I love you too  
>Oh please, don't hurt my pride like that<em>

Quinn seemed to shake off the feeling and continued her way to class.

_Cause I couldn't stand the pain  
>And I<br>Would be sad if our new love was in vain_

_So I hope you see  
>That I would love to love you<em>

Quinn stepped into her classroom. Rachel passed the door and continued to walk down the hall, holding her books tightly against her chest. Quinn turned around and saw the crowded hallway. She softly sang along to the song on her mind, unaware that she was harmonizing with the song in the other girl's heart.

_If I fell in love with you_

...

Brittany scanned the space beneath the bleachers looking for a figure she knew ought to be there, her back to the wall and her chin propped onto her knees. Sure enough, her eyes soon caught sight of the latina. She saw trails of tears on Santana's cheeks, but she wasn't crying anymore.

'Hey,' she said softly as she sat down next to her girlfriend.  
>'Hi,' the other girl breathed.<p>

Santana leaned into her and seemed relieved by her presence when the blonde wrapped her arm around her shoulders. They sat together in comfortable silence for a short moment.

'Do you remember the first time we hid out here?' Brittany whispered into the crown of her girlfriend's hair. 'It was freshman year and I came down here after Sara Hennessy called me a stupid blonde bimbo because I messed up during our first Cheerios practice.'

A small smile creeped onto Santana's face at the memory.

'She got what was coming to her, in the end,' she answered quietly. They both laughed at that.  
>'Honey, you punched her in the nose and got suspended,' Brittany reasoned.<br>'I'm telling you, if she hadn't gotten a nose job the month before, it wouldn't have been so... flexible,' Santana defended. 'It was her own fault.'  
>'Anyway," Brittany continued, giving her a stern look, 'you came down here to find me after, and do you remember what you said to me?'<p>

Santana's brows furrowed as she tried to summon the memory.

'You said that I shouldn't let girls like Sara get to me, that they were just jealous because I had magic that they'd never get to experience.'

Brittany calmly stroked Santana's hair in a soothing motion as she spoke.

'I said I'd always be there to protect you,' Santana recited seriously. 'And I failed. I didn't protect you today and I should have. I should've stood up for you, I-'  
>'Stop,' Brittany cut her off, 'just stop, San. I don't need you to protect me right now, ok?' She pulled Santana's chin up so as to look into her eyes. 'You've always protected me. I just want you to let me take care of <em>you<em> for once.'

The blonde paused for a moment, making sure that her girlfriend took in everything she was saying.

'I don't care what anybody says about me, cause you know what? They all get what's coming to them in the end, because I get you,' she explained slowly, 'and all they get is to stay here and be pathetic for the rest of their lives.'

The latina's breath hitched, and she looked into loving deep blue eyes not knowing what to say. She gently ran her hand through a lock of blonde hair, leaned her head sideways, and parted her lips slightly, expectantly awaiting her girlfriend's kiss. Brittany leaned in the rest of the way and brought their lips together in a smooth motion. They breathed each other in deeply at the contact. Their hearts instantly started racing, Brittany's hand clutched Santana's shirt at the waist while the fingers in her hair scraped her scalp with desire. They parted, a little breathless, and leaned their foreheads together looking into each other's eyes.

'I know everything's changing and it scares you,' Brittany whispered, 'but please, let me in. Don't push me away.'

She searched Santana's eyes, waiting for an answer, and broke into a relieved smile when the girl sheepishly met her gaze and nodded. She leaned forward and smiled into another kiss. When she pulled away, she kept her lips close to Santana's and whispered into her expectant mouth.

'Come over tonight,' she requested, marking it with a lustful open-mouthed kiss.

When Santana didn't answer she brought her head down to her girlfriend's neck, just below her chin, and began to gently suck and kiss at the skin there.

'Come over tonight,' she repeated persuasively, sliding her fingers slightly up the latina's shirt.

Santana let out a shaky breath and gently pulled Brittany's hair back so that she could lean into her mouth once again. Just before their lips met, Santana paused and smirked.

'Ok,' she breathed.

...

Will was sitting in the empty auditorium during third period when a doe-eyed red-head subtly walked up to him from backstage. She grabbed a stool and sat down next to him, scanning his features, waiting for him to talk to her. He gave her a quick glance and sighed.

'It's been over two years, Emma,' he began, 'it's been over two years and I feel like we're right back where we started.' He paused briefly, putting his ideas in order before continuing, 'I'm supposed to be their teacher, their guide, and I feel like I've let them down. It's been two years and they're still at the bottom of the heap, and I feel so powerless to help them.'

Emma nodded understandingly.

'Santana, she has this strength, you know? She's a great kid who doesn't want to give up, and there ought to be something I could do to help her beat this, to help her use this to her advantage, to make her stronger, but I just,' he rubbed his eyes looking exhausted, 'I don't know how.'

Emma placed her right hand and her chin on his shoulder and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

'Just make sure that she feels safe in Glee club, and knows that you guys are there for her. Try to remind her how strong and tough she is, and how much you all believe in her,' she said simply.  
>'How?' he asked, sounding small.<br>'Same way you always do,' she answered, nodding towards a guitar case at the corner of the stage.

With an encouraging squeeze of his shoulder and another kiss on the cheek, she stood up and left him to think. He went to the guitar case, opened it, and brought the acoustic instrument back to his stool. He took slow calming breaths as he tuned it, plucking each string carefully. Once the high E was tuned properly, he plugged the guitar into an amp and strummed the chords once, letting the sound echo across the auditorium. Placing his fingers in an A minor chord, he took a deep breath and started to sing.

_I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping  
>While my guitar gently weeps<br>I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping  
>Still my guitar gently weeps<em>

His voice strained with exhaustion. He thought of his students and of this world that relentlessly tried to break their spirits, time and time again.

_I don't know why nobody told you  
>How to unfold your love<br>I don't know how someone controlled you  
>They bought and sold, sold you<br>_

He thought of Santana, of the graffiti on her locker, of Kurt, of the look of fear in his eyes as Karofsky slammed him against the lockers.

_I look at the world and I notice it's turning  
>While my guitar gently weeps<br>With every mistake we must surely be learning  
>Still my guitar gently weeps<br>_

He played each note with passion. In his mind's eye, he saw them all being slushied, Tina being booed off the stage, everyone rolling their eyes at Brittany and the hurt look on the girl's face, the look on Quinn's face as they rolled her wheelchair out of the maternity ward.

_I don't know how you were diverted  
>You were perverted too<br>I don't know how you were inverted  
>No no one alerted you<em>

_I look at you all  
>Still my guitar gently weeps<em>

With a thoughtful expression, he put the guitar away and headed towards the choir room.

...

Santana and Brittany were so absorbed in each other that the sound of the bell startled them when it rang through the bleachers. They parted from each other, breathless.

'What period is this?' Santana asked, still feeling a little dizzy.  
>'Uh, fifth I think,' Brittany answered, equally confused.<br>'Ok, ok, so I'll meet you in English, I just have to swing by my locker and drop off my bag,' Santana pulled Brittany up, lingering a moment still for one last kiss, and then another, before heading towards the quickest way to her locker through the stadium locker rooms.

They were mostly deserted at this time of day and, a few seconds later, she was already exiting the girls' changing room, standing between the swinging doors of the girls' and boys' locker rooms. However, something stopped her from moving forward. Through the commotion of the changing period, she heard a familiar voice seeping through the boys' locker room door.

_Start spreading the news  
>I'm leaving today<br>I want to be a part of it  
>New York, New York<em>

The voice was muffled by the sound of the shower, but it was unmistakable. She carefully pushed the door open, looking to make sure that no-one else was inside, then with a cautious look back ensuring that no-one saw her, she stepped in, curiously drawn by the sound.

_These vagabond shoes  
>Are longing to stray<br>Right through the very heart of it  
>New York, New York<em>

She smirked, a little bewildered by her discovery, and continued to walk into the room slowly.

_I want to wake up  
>In the city that doesn't sleep<br>And find I'm king of the hill  
>Top of the heap<em>

_These little town blues  
>Are melting away<br>I'll make a brand new start of it  
>In old New York<em>

A breathy laugh escaped her at his enthusiasm. It was a strange feeling. They had spent so much time together, and she had always felt above him somehow. But in that moment, she seemed to understand how alike they actually were.

_If I can make it there  
>I'll make it anywhere<br>It's up to you  
>New York, New York<em>

_Right through the very heart of it  
>New York, New York<em>

There was something refreshing in his voice that she hadn't heard in a long time, something she now realized she desperately needed. It was hopeful, fun, and full of dreams.

_I want to wake up  
>In a city that never sleeps<br>And find I'm king of the hill  
>Head of the list<br>Cream of the crop  
>At the top of the heap<em>

She raised her eyebrows at the strength of it. Of all things she had imagined him capable of, this was by far the last.

_These little town blues  
>Are melting away<br>I'm gonna make a brand new start of it  
>In old New York<em>

It made her smile in way she had forgotten.

_If I can make it there  
>I'll make it anywhere<br>It's up to you  
>New York, New York<em>

He made sounds of a crowd cheering as he turned off the shower head and wrapped a towel around his waist.

'Thank you, thank you,' he said in mock modesty, stepping out of the shower.

His eyes widened comically when he saw her standing right in the middle of the locker rooms. He looked around at the room awkwardly, trying not to lose his composure.

'Shouldn't you be in the girls' locker room Lopez?' he asked casually.  
>'I was on my way to class when I heard you singing,' she explained. 'Look, I never thought I'd say this but, you've got one hell of a voice Karofsky.'<p>

He smirked at the compliment and gestured for her to turn around while he changed.

'I saw what you did for Brittany in the cafeteria last week. That was really brave,' he said sympathetically, 'you've really come a long way.' It was her turn to smile at the compliment. 'I'm really sorry about what happened to your locker. Those guys are gerks.'  
>'Those guys...wait, you know who did it?' she asked turning around.<p>

Luckily, he had already pulled his pants on, but his face lost all expression for a moment.

'Dave, listen, if you know who did it, you need to tell me. If I can get them expelled than maybe the other bullies will get scared and back off!' she persisted.

He considered it for a moment, but was ultimately convinced by the hopeful expression in her eyes.

'I heard Travis Parker bragging about it at football practice. That doesn't necessarily mean he did it though, he might just want everyone to think he did,' he answered.

Santana remembered how he had flipped her tray at lunch and his mocking glances towards her when she had first discovered the graffiti. It made sense.

'Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate it,' she said gratefully. She turned to walk out of the room but paused at the door frame. Turning back lightly, she added, 'why do you hang out with those guys anyway? You're not like them, David.'  
>'Who else am I gonna hang out with?' he asked with a smirk.<br>She shrugged. 'I know some people that would love to hang out with a decent guy that can belt out Frank Sinatra like nobody's business,' she answered with a wink in his direction.

He smiled back at her as she left the room.

...

Mr Schue walked into the choir room with a small smile. Once everyone was there, he looked at them one by one as the the room quieted down before speaking.

'I know it's a tough time right now,' he said. 'I don't think I tell you this enough,' he added, sitting down on a stool at the front of the room, 'but you guys are really amazing. You've all changed my life so much, and I really want us to win Nationals this year so that I can feel like I've given you back at least a small part of what you've given me. But more importantly, I want all of you to feel safe in this room. We're a family, and no matter what happens, I want each and every one of you to remember that there will always be a place for you here.'

He looked at Santana pointedly after that last sentence. The latina who was leaning into Brittany's shoulder, one arm linked with Quinn's and the other wrapped around her girlfriend's waist, only tightened her grip on the blondes. Mr Schue was disappointed when she didn't seem otherwise moved by his speech.

He had never quite known how to get through to her. He felt it was his responsibility to make her feel welcome and safe in their company, but he didn't know what to do or say that would make her understand and lay down her defenses. His elbows slouched slightly under the weight in his chest.

'Did anyone have a song for today?' he asked calmly.  
>'A few of us have actually been working on something together, mr Schue,' Sam answered.<p>

Mr Schue's eyes widened in surprise and he moved aside to make room for them. Sam, Tina, Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, and Puck dragged a few stools to the front and began to sing, filling the void with nothing but their voices.

_Because the world is round it turns me on  
>Because the world is round<br>Because the wind is high it blows my mind  
>Because the wind is high<em>

Mr Schue's eyes watered and his jaw dropped at how much they had improved. He looked over at Santana hoping to catch a reaction. Her grip on Quinn's arm visibly tightened and she swallowed thickly. The blonde looked on at her friends in amazement. Both Rachel and Puck stared back at her, their expressions unreadable.

_Love is old, love is new  
>Love is all, love is you<em>

The six at the front continued to harmonized with each other, moving their friends with their performance. Sugar sniffled next to Brittany, and the blonde reached over and rubbed her shoulder slightly.

_Because the sky is blue it makes me cry  
>Because the sky is blue<em>

...

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully, but Santana felt nervous for the coming evening. When the bell rang marking the end of the day, she made her way back to her locker with Quinn.

'Hey, do you think you could help me out with my Beatles song tonight?' Quinn asked hopefully.  
>'Uh, you know I'd love to Q, but I'm actually hanging out with Britt tonight,' she answered a little shyly.<br>'Ooooh, I see. Bow chicka bow wow,' she sang teasingly.  
>'Very funny,' Santana replied dryly.<br>'Are you nervous?' the blonde asked, unable to withhold a small giggle.  
>'A little bit,' the latina admitted. 'I mean, we haven't done, <em>you know<em>,' she said secretively. Quinn smirked at the girl's sudden shyness on the subject, 'in a while. It's a good kind of nervous though, I think.'

Quinn nodded understandingly, placing her books into her backpack and closing her locker.

'Alright, well I guess I could call Rachel,' she said nonchalantly.  
>'Ew,' was her immediate reaction, and after a beat, 'bow chicka bow wow,' she teased in turn.<br>'Shut up,' Quinn said, pretending to ignore her.  
>'Goood luuuuck,' Santana sing-songed as she closed her locker.<br>'I can't hear you,' Quinn answered from the end of the hall.

...

After swinging by her house to have a quick dinner and pick up her overnight bag, Santana decided to walk to Brittany's. Her sweaty palms felt slippery against the strap of her bag. Her heart was beating frantically in anticipation of the promise of the evening.

When she arrived at the front door, she raised a shaky hand to the doorbell and rang. Brittany's mother came to let her in seconds later.

'Hi mrs P,' she greeted, trying to look as polite and presentable as possible.  
>'Hello Santana,' the woman greeted her warmly, 'you go on upstairs and make yourself at home, Brittany's in the shower but she should be done in a little bit.'<br>'Oh, ok. Thank you,' she answered, trying desperately not to seem nervous despite the beads of sweat she could feel gathering on her temple.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she let her in.

'Are you ok, honey?' she asked in a concerned tone.  
>'I'm fine, thank you,' Santana said a little too quickly, 'just a little tired. It's been a long day, you know.'<p>

She cleared her throat hoping it would clear her head.

'I'm just gonna head upstairs and wait,' she said, needing desperately to get away from Brittany's mother as soon as possible. 'Thanks for everything mrs P.'

She was halfway up the stairs when she heard mrs Pierce's voice calling her name in an amused tone as she headed back towards the kitchen.

'No funny business now, girls,' she warned teasingly.

Santana tripped on a stair and almost fell flat on her face.

Once upstairs, she went straight for Brittany's room, changed into her pajama shorts and tank top and plopped down on the bed breathing a sigh of relief. _I'll just close my eyes for a minute._

...

When Santana opened her eyes, the room was darker, lit only by the warm glow of the small lamp on Brittany's bedside table. A familiar body was wrapped around hers, dressed only in a bathrobe, and soft warm lips were trailing slow lingering kisses across her shoulder. She must have stirred when she awoke, because Brittany slowly slid her onto her back and leaned over her.

'Have you been having trouble sleeping?' the blonde whispered, sliding her fingers gently across Santana's hairline.  
>'Hey,' Santana leaned in to press their lips together lazily, smiling, still trying to shake the sleep out of her system.<p>

She plopped back down onto the pillow, looking up at her lover adoringly and suddenly feeling incredibly safe.

'A little bit,' she confessed. 'I think maybe I need a body pillow or something. I have trouble sleeping without you next to me.'  
>'Oh my god,' Brittany breathed, looking away as her cheeks blushed furiously.<p>

It was a disarming feeling that the blonde wasn't used to, so she focused her attention on her girlfriend's hand. She caressed it, drawing small delicate patterns in her palm before spreading her fingers with her own and pressing their hands together.

'We don't have to do anything if you don't want to,' Brittany assured her. 'I just didn't want to be away from you tonight,' she admitted.

Santana delicately pushed the blonde's wet hair back with her left hand. Brittany felt her heart swelling at the reverent way in which Santana observed her, treasuring every last inch of her. She tenderly brought their lips back together.

'I want to,' Santana breathed into her lover's mouth.

Slowly, their kisses deepened. Their tongues began to slide against each other. Slowly, their hands began to wander, their fingers carefully trailing each others' bodies. Little by little, they rediscovered each other, containing their desire until they no longer could.

Brittany soon found herself on top of Santana, laying between her thighs, both girls panting heavily on the bed. What had begun as innocent kisses and caresses quickly escalated.

The blonde moved down Santana's body and, raising the hem of her tank top to the underside of her breasts, spread loving open-mouthed kisses across her abdomen. After a moment, she pulled the tank top higher, slid it over Santana's head and threw it carelessly over her shoulder. Both girls laughed breathily at the gesture. Brittany leaned onto her elbows as Santana wrapped her arms around her neck, but the blonde's smile faded when her gaze fell upon the small scars on Santana's breasts.

The latina swallowed hard and shut her eyes as she felt Brittany's fingers ghost over them gently, fighting her impulse to shy away from the contact. Soon, she felt tender lips carefully place kisses across the same path her lover's fingers had followed. Brittany caressed her breasts with such care and attention that Santana nearly cried. She opened her eyes only to see Brittany, hovering over her chest, and place her lips lovingly on the skin above her heart, breathing in deeply the smell of cinnamon that was so distinctly Santana.

Santana slid her hands down Brittany's back and around to the front of her waist to undo the belt of her bathrobe. She slid the cloth down her girlfriend's body, trailing tender kisses from her shoulder to her chest as she did. Brittany then helped her slide her shorts off. Every stroke was more passionate than the last, every kiss more intimate. Their hands traveled up and down each other's bodies, searching for that familiar warmth they so desperately craved.

When Brittany's hand found its way under the hem of her panties, Santana clutched her lover's shoulder and let out a loud breath into the blonde's ear. The warm air sent chills down Brittany's neck and she felt the latina's legs tense slightly around her own. Santana's head shot back and her back arched, her body demanding more - more contact, more warmth, more love, more Brittany.

Her hand gripping Brittany's shoulder tightened and she pulled her down so that their foreheads leaned against one another. Looking deep into blue eyes, she slid her fingers down between her lover's thighs. Brittany's eyes closed instantly and her mouth quietly dropped open.

'I love you,' Santana whispered, once Brittany's eyes met hers once more. Her voice trembled and was wrapped in the most endearing vulnerable sincerity.

Brittany breathed out a soft laughter as tears gathered in her eyes and she replied heatedly, 'I love you. I love you, so much.'

Their lips met once more. Every kiss slower, their tongues lingering within the warmth of each other, tenderly repeating admissions of love in between breaths. Softly, the hands between their thighs began to move. Gently at first, then more purposefully.

Their breaths were increasingly labored, their kisses lazy and their movements more urgent. Their panting became louder and louder. Soon they abandoned words all together, settling on each other's names. Their eyelids felt heavier with every passing moment, but neither of them broke eye contact as they carried each other to inconceivable new heights.

In that moment, the world around them completely dissipated. Nothing existed for either of them beyond the body shielded in their arms. Finally, they began to shake and quiver against each other, completely losing control.

Santana's legs clung to Brittany tightly. Her arm, wrapped around the blonde's shoulder, loosened while her other hand continued to rub at the moisture between her girlfriend's legs. Brittany's knees were bent slightly around the latina's thighs and she leaned on her left elbow, her hand cupping the side of her lover's face while her other hand slid up and down Santana's folds.

They looked into each other's eyes as they came, first Santana and, seconds later, Brittany. Their bodies tightened around each other as they tried to prolong the moment as much as possible.

Brittany's head dropped to Santana's shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. She began to spread loving open-mouthed kisses here and there, on Santana's neck, her earlobe, her shoulder. She could hear the latina panting in her ear as she did. They both brought their hands back up their bodies after a moment, Santana sliding hers up her lover's back while Brittany brought hers up to cup the other side of Santana's face. The blonde leaned back on her elbows and looked down at her girlfriend.

'You're so beautiful,' she whispered in awe.

Santana pulled her back down to kiss her lazily, sucking her lower lip between her own. Then, Brittany leaned their foreheads together, still trying to catch her breath.

'Don't ever leave me, ok?' Santana whispered vulnerably, her eyes betraying lingering insecurity.  
>'I love you,' Brittany said reassuringly. 'I don't ever want to be without you again.'<p>

Santana smiled like she thought she was dreaming. She rubbed their noses together, giving her girlfriend tender little mouse kisses. Moments passed, and as they came down from their high, their kisses began to linger and deepen until they were making out all over again. Brittany brought their hands together over her lover's head and slowly started to move her hips against her, searching for more contact.

Santana let her lips travel up Brittany's neck, taking the time to suck at her pulse until she was certain she had left a hickey. She let one of her hands come down between them and caressed Brittany's breasts.

'Make love to me, ' she whispered hotly into the blonde's ear.

Brittany whimpered softly at the words and passionately brought their lips back together.

...

Quinn picked up the phone receiver and began to dial Rachel's number for what felt like the thousandth time that evening. And like every other time before, she froze on the last number and slammed the receiver back down. She sighed, annoyed with herself, frustratingly running a hand through her blonde hair.

She looked over at the alarm clock on her nightstand. _09:30. _It was too late for her to come over, but she had at least wanted to apologize. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the receiver, ready to try again.

She was startled when it suddenly started to ring. A suspicious eyebrow raised, she picked up the receiver and brought it to her ear.

'Hello?' she answered curiously.

There was no answer.

'Hello?' she repeated a little louder.  
>'<em>Hi, Quinn? It's Rachel...<em>' came a shy voice from the other end.  
>'Oh hi, I was just going to call you,' Quinn said awkwardly.<br>'_Were you really?_'

There was an awkward silence.

'I-I was trying to call you,' Quinn mumbled embarrassingly.  
>'<em>Oh... Listen, I just wanted to call and apologize about today. It was really none of my business. I shouldn't pry like that,' <em>Rachel said sincerely.  
>'No, stop. You're my friend, you were just trying to help. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that,' she apologized in turn.<p>

Quinn thought that apologizing would have made her feel relieved, but for some reason, there was still a heaviness that she couldn't identify weighing upon their conversation.

'Hey Rach, is it ok if we talk tomorrow? I kind of want to practice my Beatles song before bed,' she said, trying to cut the conversation short.  
>'<em>Any chance you could tell me what song you're doing?<em>' Rachel asked curiously, sounding more like herself.  
>'I think I'll keep it a surprise,' she answered mysteriously. 'But I'll tell you a secret.'<br>'_Yeah?_'

_And she's back._

'I'm singing it for Beth.'

...

She could feel the warmth of the sunlight, peering through the light curtains of her window, behind her closed eyelids. Lodged against every curve of her body was an equally familiar warmth. The other girl was still fast asleep, an arm instinctively wrapped around her waist, keeping her as close as possible.

Every sensation felt familiar and oddly new at the same time. She took a deep breath, revelling in the completeness of it. _This is happiness._

She remained as still as she could, determined not to leave their safe haven until she had to. Under her bed sheets had always been the place where she had felt the most safe. Even so, they had never felt this safe. Why did bed sheets feel so safe anyway? She smiled remembering how they used to sit under the bed sheets at night with flashlights, just to stay awake a little longer. They'd talk about anything those nights, because anything said beneath those sheets would always be kept safe. They even talked about the future.

'Morning Britt-Britt,' she heard the girl behind her mumble into her shoulder, following it with a few lazy kisses. 'Last night feels like I imaged it.'

She turned around in her lover's arms, a wide grin spread across her features. The other girl eyed her looking amused at her expression. The blonde leaned in for a sweet kiss, both girls smiling against each others' lips.

'I've never woken up in your arms like this,' Brittany whispered, letting her hand draw patterns softly onto her girlfriend's chest.  
>'Hey, look at me,' Santana said seriously, searching her eyes. 'I'm all in this time. 100%. Committed. I'm never gonna leave you after...you know, after...'<br>'After making love?' Brittany said innocently, grinning at Santana's shyness.  
>'Yeah. Never again. There's no-where else I'd rather be right now,' the latina added, abandoning all attempts not to look so whipped. <em>Who's gonna know?<em>

The blonde looked back at her with that same wide playful grin.

'Why are you smiling like that?' Santana asked.  
>'I was just thinking about something,' Brittany began slowly, 'when...I mean, if we ever had kids, would you want them to be chicks or pandas?'<p>

Santana burst into laughter.

'What are you even-?' she asked in amused confusion.

Brittany loved that about her. Santana always wanted to know things, to understand. And for some reason, she was always especially fascinated with Brittany's ideas.

'Well, remember when we were little and we talked about how we were gonna be moms someday?'  
>'Yeah,' Santana said, still sounding confused.<br>'And you said you'd be, like, mama bear and I said I would be mother hen, and you said that that was the same thing, but I said it wasn't because hens have more babies?'

Halfway through the her sentence, her girlfriend had broken into her natural, radiant laughter.

'So, wait Britt, I don't,' she tried to say as her laughter died down, 'I'm not sure what we're talking about.'

Brittany hid her face into her pillow, clearly a little embarrassed.

'Britt?' Santana tried softly, rubbing reassuring circles on her arm.  
>'Forget it. It's too soon to talk about it anyway,' Brittany replied shyly.<p>

Santana considered her for a moment.

'Well, if you're asking what I think you're asking,' she said carefully, 'then, _when _we have kids, I think I'd only really want one cub. I'm not crazy about the whole pregnancy thing, but I'd want our family to have a little of both of us in it. So, I'd want at least one chick too, if not a couple.'

Brittany's cheeks were a deep shade of red and her breathing was quick and nervous.

'_When_ we have kids?' she asked softly.  
>'Yeah,' Santana confirmed, leaning her head sideways and bringing her lips to the blonde's passionately, their tongues sliding against each other and their skin rubbing softly together.<br>'Mmm do you think we have time for a quickie before school?' the blonde asked seductively in between kisses.  
>'HEIIIIGH-HO! HEIGH-HO, HEIGH-HO, IT'S OFF TO SCHOOL YOU GO!' they heard Brittany's father sing down the hall before he began to climb down the stairs. 'GIRLS, RORY, BREAKFAST IN 20!' he called enthusiastically.<p>

Brittany almost growled in annoyance and Santana smiled at her expression.

'Cmon hon, let's take a shower.'

The blonde's expression changed instantly to excitement and she hopped out of the bed energetically to pick out her clothes.

'Hey Britt-Britt,' Santana called from the bed.  
>'Yeah?'<br>'Why would the cubs be pandas?' she asked curiously.  
>'Aren't pandas, like, the bear version of interracial children?'<p>

...

Santana walked into school that day holding her girlfriend's hand. She could feel her palm beginning to sweat, but she was too nervous to let go. Her body felt shaky and insecure but in her mind, she was prepared to face whatever was going to be thrown her way that day. She had readied herself for every scenario.

Save this one.

Lined in front of her locker were Quinn, Mercedes, Tina, Rachel, Sugar, Puck, Finn, Mike, Sam, Artie, Kurt, and Blaine, wearing white t-shirt with words printed on them. They looked like the shirts they had worn on their Born This Way assignments, but these shirts all had similar messages. "Loves girls," "No more h8," "Love is love," etc. Her jaw dropped as she looked at their shirts one by one.

Mercedes stepped towards her with two shirts in her hands.

'They can't use it against you if it's yours,' she said, handing her a t-shirt. "Proud lesbian."

She gave the other to Brittany who smiled at the slogan. The blonde put it on over her tank top. "In love with a proud lesbian."

'Can't we get in trouble for this?' Santana asked.  
>'When has that ever stopped you?' Puck replied.<br>'We also wanted to show you this,' Quinn announced, signalling the others to move away from the lockers.

The red letters were gone, replaced by a mural of colors. There were artistic caricatures of her, Quinn, and Brittany on each of their lockers as well as other decorum which suited each of them individually. She could see a unicorn and ballet shoes on Brittany's, a raven, a quill and an inc blot on Quinn's, and hers featured a heart set on fire and a panther.

'How did you do this?' Santana asked in amazement.  
>'I told my dads about what happened and they threatened to sue the school if mr Figgins didn't give us permission to redecorate the lockers and agreed to install cameras,' Rachel answered. 'It wasn't easy but they got him to agree. Puck knows a guy who does graffiti art so he called in a favor.'<p>

Santana didn't quite know what to say. It was such an unprecedented gesture.

'You guys did all that for _me_?' she asked in a whisper after a moment.  
>'Of course. You're one of us, Santana,' Rachel answered sweetly.<p>

It was too much. It was all too much. She smiled, ignoring the prickling in her eyes, and, to everyone's surprise, she rushed into Rachel's arms. The others bunched together and wrapped their arms around her while she mumbled thank yous into Rachel's shoulder.

At that moment, mr Figgins, who was walking down the hall, caught sight of Quinn's shirt. "Dyke."

'Miss Fabray! That shirt is offensive! I must ask you to take it off immediately,' he reprimanded.  
>'Oh, it's ok to let it sit on our lockers for a week but if it's on my shirt, <em>then<em> it's offensive?' Quinn countered.  
>'I am the principle of this school, and I forbid letting you kids walk around with that kind of language on your clothes,' he persisted, 'now, take it off!'<br>'Whatever you say,' she replied challengingly.

To their astonishment, she took off her shirt right in the middle of the hallway and tossed it into the principle's hands. All of the other students walking by suddenly stopped, and some whistles could be heard from the gathering crowd. Their jaws dropped.

'That's hot,' Brittany deadpanned. Santana smirked.

Principle Figgins, visibly embarrassed, quickly gave the shirt back to her.

'Put your clothes back on!' he hurriedly whispered.  
>'Well, make up your mind, sir. Take your clothes off, put it back on, which is it?' she said putting the shirt back on.<br>'I did not ask you to take your clothes off!' he hissed.  
>'Actually, that's exactly what you said,' Finn countered.<br>'We all heard you,' Sam chimed in.

Unprepared for the situation, mr Figgins marched away from them, mumbling about consequences and things, while the students in the hall all laughed at the incident.

...

Mr Schue watched them all file into the choir room later that afternoon with an overwhelming feeling of pride. Only two weeks had passed since the beginning of that year's term, but he could see clearly how much his students were changing.

'Hey guys! Nice shirts,' he greeted them with a grin. 'I'm really proud of you guys for coming together as a group this week, we're gonna need that when we get to Sectionals. With that in mind, the boys and I have prepared a special number for today, but before that, our very own Quinn Fabray has a little something for us. Quinn?'

The blonde stepped forward and gave her sheet music to the band. Without any further pause or introduction, she leaned on the piano and started to sing, a mature somber ring in her voice, just as the guitar began to play.

_There are places I remember  
>All my life, though some have changed<br>Some forever not for better  
>Some have gone and some remain<em>

She looked over their faces, recalling the friendships she had known, and those she had lost. She remembered Cheerios and those that had come and gone from Glee club. Her gaze especially lingered on Puck, Finn, and Sam as she continued.

_All these places had their moments  
>With lovers and friends<br>I still can recall  
>Some are dead and some are living<br>In my life I've loved them all_

Her eyes then inexplicably went to Rachel who watched her performance in awe. Her min wandered to blue eyes like hers, tiny little hands latching onto her fingers. She felt a small heart beating in time with hers and felt tears come to her eyes as the cracks of her facade finally began to show.

_But of all these friends and lovers  
>There is no-one compares with you<br>And these memories lose their meaning  
>When I think of love as something new<em>

She took in a shaky breath, but her voice was steady and controlled as she continued.

_Though I know I'll never lose affection  
>For people and things that went before<br>I know I'll often stop and think about them  
>In my life, I love you more<em>

She tried to imagine what Beth would look like now, over a year since she had seen her last. She wondered whether she would recognize her at all. As she came out of her daze, she looked affectionately at Rachel and repeated the previous verse.

_Though I know I'll never lose affection  
>For people and things that went before<br>I know I'll often stop and think about them  
>In my life, I love you more<em>

Looking straight into the small girl's crying eyes, she sang the last few words of the song.

_In my life, I love you more_

There was a heavy silence following the performance. Some were even in tears. Tina was the first to speak, her voice full of emotion.

'Quinn, that was absolutely incredible,' she said.

Congratulations and encouragements were spoken by all of them as they praised the sincerity of her number. The last to speak was mr Schue.

'Quinn, you've improved so much. Keep doing what you're doing and you might just land yourself a solo at Sectionals,' he announced.

Rachel looked a little shocked but didn't protest. When they had all recovered from the emotions of the previous performance, mr Schue grabbed a couple of guitars and handed them to Sam and Puck. Finn grabbed some drum sticks and smiled waiting for their cue. The bell rang just as they were about to begin and their teacher smiled.

'Come on boys, let's take this one outside.'

He opened the door. Puck and Sam were the first to step out, guitars in hand. They started playing in the hall as the entire student body watched. Unexpectedly, Mike was the first to sing.

_What would you do if I sang out of tune  
>Would you stand up and walk out on me?<br>Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song  
>And I'll try not to sing out of key<br>Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_

Puck chimed in with the next line as they all stepped out into the hall, dancing around carelessly.

_Gets high with a little help from his friends_

Mike jumped back in to sing the last line.

_Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends  
><em>

Sam took the lead in the next verse with Finn singing the back-up as he played the rhythm on the lockers. Everyone in the hallway watched and laughed, but one red-head in particular seemed very interested.

_What do I do when my love is away?  
>(Does it worry you to be alone?)<br>How do I feel by the end of the day?  
>(Are you sad because you're on your own?)<br>No! I get by with a little help from my friends  
>Yeah, I get high with a little help from my friends<br>Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends  
><em>

Artie and Blaine then took their turns singing.

_(Do you need anybody?)  
>I need somebody to love<br>(Could it be anybody?)  
>I want somebody to love<em>

Kurt and Puck chimed in for the next verse.

_(Would you believe in a love at first sight?)  
>Yeah I'm certain that it happens all the time<br>(What do you see when you turn out the light?)  
>I can't tell you, but I know it's mine<br>Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends  
>Mm I get high with a little help from my friends<br>Oh, I'm going to try with a little help from my friends_

They all made their way into the courtyard, Sam and Puck energetically strumming the strings of their guitars while Finn and Mike sang. Dave, who was standing on the steps, stared in admiration. Santana smiled at him radiantly as she passed him, jumping into Brittany's arms at the end of the first set of stairs. The other girls seductively strolled around the boys jokingly.

_Do you need anybody?  
>I need someone to love<br>Could it be anybody?  
><em>

The entire club chimed in together as they continued. Mike lifted Tina and span her around while Sam did the same with Santana. Kurt sat in Artie's lap while he rolled them around in circles. Quinn hopped onto Mercedes' back. Finn wrapped an arm around Puck's shoulders and moved them from side to side, while Brittany hilariously lifted Blaine bridal-style and and swung him around.

_By with a little help from my friends  
>By with a little help from my friends<br>Try with a little help from my friends  
>By with a little help from my friends<em>

Rory looked on at the performance with a wide grin and a thoughtful expression. They all dropped onto the floor at the bottom of the steps, bunched together into a dog-pile.

_I get by with a little help from my friends  
>With a little help from my friends<em>

Santana's heart beat with elation. She had the best of friends. She had the love of her life. In the distance, she saw Travis staring at them. His expression was furious, but to her surprise, it wasn't aimed at her. She felt her blood freeze over when she realized it was aimed at Brittany.

* * *

><p>I really hope you guys enjoyed that! Please comment and review, I appreciate any and all feedback ^^ Here's a little preview of next chapter :P<p>

**Synopsis of next chapter, Remember The Magic : **It's senior year and everyone's last chance to get it right. The girls have decided to take back the school! Brittany is running for class president. Santana and Quinn are auditioning for the leads of the school play. Mercedes is more determined than ever to land a big solo for competition this year, and all four of them are teaming up with Kurt to impress coach Sue into letting them back on Cheerios. Everything seems to be looking up, but Santana can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right. As for Brittany, something about the new girl, Sugar, seems to have her puzzled. The Glee club welcomes several new members. Dave, Puck and Sam struggle with their ambitions for the future, Rory struggles to fit in at his new school, Finn and Blaine become unexpected rivals, and Artie, Mike and Tina start their own production company. Tensions run high as Rachel and Kurt are faced with much more competition than they ever could have expected. In the midst of all these changes, mr Schue and coach Sue team up to bring back the magic they all so desperately need.


	6. Remember The Magic Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Glee do not belong to me. They are the property of Fox network as well as the creators of the show. The songs used in this chapter are, in order, Hellfire, Zero to Hero and Soon You'll Come Home. They are all the property of Disney Records, with the exception of Soon You'll Come Home which is the property of Curb Records and Don Bluth Entertainment (to the best of my knowledge).

**Author's note:** As usual, I strongly suggest you look up these songs on youtube and listen to them as you read or, better yet, listen to my playlist on 8tracks at: 8trackscom/burtonfan23/remember-the-magic-pt-1 (they don't allow posting links on this website so, just add a dot after 8tracks). The songs on the playlist correspond to what I had planned to fit into part 1 of this chapter, however this is turning out to be much longer to write than I had anticipated so I'm going to be splitting it into more parts so that I can update much more regularly. Rated M for several reasons. Please review and enjoy! ;)

**Remember The Magic Part 1**

Travis' eyes glared at Brittany from across the room. Santana shuffled closer to her girlfriend, trying to focus on the sermon. The priest gave the sign for the congregation to join together in song. She opened her booklet to the right page and leaned to her side slightly to let Brittany follow along with her.

_Confiteor Deo omnipotenti_  
><em>Beatae Mariae semper virgini<em>

She could feel his eyes on them. The feeling made her blood run cold, and she couldn't help but slide her arm around the blonde's waist protectively, pulling her closer.

_Beato Michaeli Archangelo_  
><em>Sanctis apostolis<em>  
><em>Omnibus sanctis<em>

Her gaze crossed his and was met with what she could only describe as a strange mix of anger, and, as her fingers gripped the fabric of Brittany's shirt lightly, jealousy. She clenched her jaw.

_(Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man_  
><em>Of my virtue I am justly proud)<em>

_Et tibit Pater_

He glanced at a stained window depicting the virgin Mary with conflicted emotion as the congregation continued to sing.

_(Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than_  
><em>The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd)<em>

_Quia peccavi nimis_

Slowly the anger in his eyes grew and seemed to supersede all other emotion as his gaze drifted once again to Brittany.

_(Then tell me, Maria_  
><em>Why I see her dancing there<em>  
><em>Why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul)<em>

_Cogitatione_

Santana's eyes bore into him, determined not to back down.

_(I feel her, I see her_  
><em>The Sun caught in golden hair<em>  
><em>Is blazing in me out of all control)<em>

_Verbo et opere_

She couldn't decide whether he seemed more frightened or furious. His eyes turned back towards the front and fixed themselves onto the cross. Santana looked away, but didn't loosen her grip on the blonde by her side.

_(Like fire, hellfire_  
><em>This fire in my skin<em>  
><em>This burning desire<em>  
><em>Is turning me to sin)<em>

_Mea culpa, mea culpa (It's not my fault, I'm not to blame)_  
><em>Mea culpa (It is this stupid girl, this bitch that set this flame)<em>  
><em>Mea culpa, mea culpa (It's not my fault, it's in God's plan)<em>  
><em>Mea culpa (He made the devil so much stronger than a man)<em>

She didn't see the expression of determination that came over him as he absently continued to sing along with the rest of the congregation.

_(Protect me, Maria_  
><em>Don't let this siren cast her spell<em>  
><em>Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone<em>  
><em>Destroy her, Maria<em>  
><em>And let her taste the fires of hell<em>  
><em>Or else let her be mine and mine alone)<em>

_(Hellfire, dark fire_  
><em>Now Brittany, it's your turn<em>  
><em>Choose me or your pyre<em>  
><em>Be mine or you will burn)<em>

He turned his attention towards them one more, his expression cold and unreadable.

_Kyrie Eleison (God have mercy on her) _  
><em>Kyrie Eleison (God have mercy on me) <em>  
><em>Kyrie Eleison (But she will be mine or she will burn!) <em>

…

Brittany pulled Santana towards her by their intertwined fingers as they waited for the other members of the Lopez clan in the church parking lot. She leaned onto the latina's shoulder and smiled.

'You really didn't have to do this,' Santana whispered gratefully.  
>'I know, but I wanted to. Besides, my family doesn't go to church and I <em>love<em> getting to spend time with yours,' Brittany answered.  
>'Well, thank you,' Santana said, quickly pecking the blonde on the lips after making sure no-one was watching. 'I really <em>love<em> having you close to me.'  
>'And I'd really <em>love <em>it if you guys would just get a room and stop flaunting your happiness around,' Santana's older brother, Eric, teased as he passed them, 'it's gross.'

Eric and Ashley, Brittany's younger sister, were the only members of either of their families that knew about them. It came as a surprise to neither. After everything that had happened at school, Brittany had not wanted to press the issue of telling their parents further. It could wait. She had Santana. The rest could wait.

'Hey, you had your chance pall,' Brittany teased.  
>'Corazon, are you coming back with us?' Santana's father asked as he made his way towards them with his wife.<br>'Brittany's gonna drop me off later, daddy. We're meeting up with Quinn and some friends for brunch,' she explained.  
>'Alright, cuidado muchachas,' Santana's mother insisted, giving her daughter a quick peck on the forehead before the family walked away towards their car, 'drive safely, Brittany.'<br>'Sí mamá!' Brittany assured, to the woman's amusement.

Santana's father was not amused. He shot the blonde a look that was more of a warning and her cheeks instantly reddened.

Antonio Lopez was one of those men that even the most powerful men are unsettled by. Antonio Lopez meant business. Antonio Lopez never paid late fees. Antonio Lopez was never put on hold. Antonio Lopez...well you get the picture.

'Drive safely, Brittany,' he said in a tone that was not to be toyed with.

The blonde gulped visibly and nodded.

…

'Hey, what's going on?' Brittany asked softly as she adjusted her mirrors. 'I'm the one that should be nervous after the look your dad just gave me. I thought the flesh was gonna melt off his face.'  
>'Nothing,' Santana sighed. 'It's just, have you noticed how Travis has been looking at you lately? He is seriously creeping me out Brittany.'<br>'Come on San, he's just a jerk,' Brittany said reassuringly. 'He's just a jerk that doesn't know when he's beat.'  
>'Just...be careful, okay babe?' Santana insisted.<br>'Mhm, always!' Brittany said leaning across the center console for a kiss.

Santana sighed at the soft caress of Brittany's lips on hers. When their lips parted, she sank back into her seat and smiled, trying her best to push aside the nagging feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach.

…

_'Hey, Mercedes! Where are you? Everyone's here and we're waiting for you to order,'_ Quinn asked while Brittany, Santana, Kurt and Blaine patiently waited for an answer on speakerphone.  
><em>'I swear I've been driving around this neighborhood for like twenty minutes and I can't find this place! Just order for me and I'll be there as soon as I can!' <em>Mercedes answered, sounding exasperated.  
><em>'Okayyyy, see you in a bit! Love youuu,' <em>Quinn said teasingly.  
><em>'Love you too! Bye!'<em> came the angry voice on the other end of the phone.

Quinn laughed as she hung up and put her cellphone back into her purse.

'How do you know what she's gonna order? She's never been here before' Kurt asked curiously.  
>'The junk food twins do this all the time Skippy. This might be the <em>only <em>brunch place they haven't been to,' Santana replied playfully.  
>'Not <em>all <em>the time! You're exaggerating,' Quinn defended while the others laughed.  
>'Yeah, sure honey,' Santana mumbled as she looked through the menu.<p>

Quinn huffed defensively, but the argument was forgotten as soon as the waiter arrived to take their orders. The conversation took a completely different turn when the waiter walked away a moment later.

'So, Britt and I actually have a favor to ask you guys,' Santana began, her eyes a little fidgety.  
>'Oh?' Quinn said suspiciously. 'Are you sure you don't want us to wait for Mercedes?'<br>'It's ok. I talked to her on the phone last night and she's down,' the latina answered. 'Umm, the thing is that we're trying out for Cheerios tomorrow, and we've got most of our routine down and I know it's really last minute, but we were just sort of wondering if you would maybe consider um...' she babbled.  
>'We were wondering if you'd help us,' Brittany finished for her.<br>'I mean, it would only be to help us out. You don't have to join the team or anything if you don't want to,' Santana quickly added, 'but it would look better if we had a couple more people for our routine, just for the try-out, and since you guys have been on Cheerios before, we kind of thought-'  
>'Wow! Pause! Rewind! You were a cheerleader?' Blaine asked Kurt incredulously.<br>'Why is that so hard to believe?' Kurt countered, sounding offended.  
>'It's just...I wouldn't have guessed that you were into that sort of thing,' Blaine clumsily tried to recover.<br>'Count me in,' Kurt said dryly, turning to Santana.  
>'Uh great! Thanks!' Santana said, relieved. 'What about you Q?'<br>'Pleaaaaaaaase,' Brittany pleaded sweetly.

Quinn made a lousy attempt to look as though she was unconvinced, but with Brittany giving her that pleading pout, she quickly lost her composure.

'Alright, alright, I'll do it,' she said with a breathy laugh. 'Why the sudden interest though?'  
>'Well, college applications are coming up soon and, it'd be great to have another national championship to put on our transcripts,' Santana explained.<br>'And it's fun!' Brittany chimed in happily.

Quinn considered this for a moment. She looked at Santana, then at Brittany. There was something hanging in the air around that conversation, a question they weren't asking but wanted to. It was there in the latina's nervous eyes, in the blonde's way of folding and re-folding her napkin.

'I'll do it, but on one condition,' Quinn said seriously.

Brittany and Santana looked up at her, unsure of what to expect.

'This time around, I want us to be friends first, and cheerleaders second. No matter what positions we get, how crazy Sue gets, whether we win or lose, we are in this together this time. Deal?'  
>'Deal!' they both answered in unison.<p>

Brittany broke into an ecstatic smile and bounced up from her seat. She went around the table to hug Quinn tightly while Santana breathed a sigh of relief.

'I'll join too,' Kurt also added. 'I could use the extra-credit on my transcript, and it was a lot of fun last time.'  
>'And it'll be even more fun this time!' Mercedes announced as she finally arrived. 'Ladies, gentlemen, I think it's about time we took back this school.'<p>

Brittany squealed with excitement and Santana shared conspiring looks with her friends who cheered in agreement.

Once their food arrived, they began to consult each other.

'I think being on the Cheerios definitely gives us a leg up socially,' Quinn began, 'but, I also think we need someone a little bit closer to the school's administration. Someone who could take some of our issues to a higher authority.'  
>'Like student council president?' Brittany asked.<br>'Yes, that's brilliant!' Kurt agreed. 'One of us could run for senior class president.'  
>'Or a bunch of us could run,' Mercedes suggested, 'that way we could be sure one of us would win.'<br>'I'd be a little worried about things getting kind of competitive if we do that though,' Blaine confessed.  
>'And we'd be splitting up all our resources,' Santana reasoned. 'I think we might have better odds if we all work together.'<p>

The others were visibly surprised, not by the suggestion itself, but by Santana being the one to make it.

'And since Brittany was the one who came up with the idea, I nominate her as our candidate,' Blaine said encouragingly.

The blonde visibly hesitated.

'You guys really think I'd be smart enough to do it?' she asked, her voice so small and unsure that it just about broke their hearts. 'I mean, I'm a little worried about my gpa this year.'  
>'I think you'd be smart enough to do anything, honey bee,' Quinn assured her while gently rubbing her back. 'But, if it makes you feel better, maybe we could all start a study group for the classes we all have in common, and Santana and I can tutor you on anything else you might need.'<br>'Really?' Brittany asked hopefully.  
>'Absolutely Britt!' Mercedes chimed in. 'We'll all study together, it'll be fun!'<br>'I know I could definitely use your help with bio,' Kurt added honestly, 'I don't know how you can remember that many Latin names for body parts, and stuff. I have enough trouble just learning their names in English...'

Santana smiled at her friends gratefully. Brittany's eyes blurred with tears for a second, but she quickly wiped them away and, with that, her sunny disposition returned.

'Sounds like a plan then,' Kurt reiterated softly, raising his coffee mug to the center of the table. 'Tomorrow starts a new era at McKinley. We'll join Cheerios, get great parts in Chicago, help Britt run for class president, finally win glee club nationals, get amazing grades _and_ get into college. All of us.'  
>'To new beginnings and the friends that make them possible,' Quinn said, holding her cup up by Kurt's.<br>'To reaching for the stars,' Blaine added, bringing his mug up to theirs with an encouraging smile.  
>'To getting through it together,' Mercedes said, pulling her cup up next to her friends'.<br>'To going the distance,' Santana chimed in, adding her cup to the mix.  
>'To making a difference,' Brittany said, bringing her mug up to the center of the table.<p>

With that, they all clinked their cups and their mugs together, sealing their promises to each other.

…

_William Faulkner once said__ about himself and the writers of his generation: 'A__ll of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible.' _

_I thought about it as I walked away from the restaurant. Could anyone ever truly match their dreams of perfection? Were we dreaming a little too big? Did it matter? Maybe the only thing that really mattered was that we were willing to try with such ardor and passion that, should we fail, our failure would be the most splendid, spectacular failure to do the impossible that anyone had ever seen. _

_Should we succeed, we could change this place for the better. 'Make a difference.' The thought made me smile. I sat in my car, holding a familiar picture in my hands. It was worn and faded from being exposed to the light. The picture was just a formality. I knew the image by heart. I had replayed the scene often enough in my mind to know every corner of that picture by heart. It was a photo of the day we met. I hope you'll look at it once in a while and think of me as I thought of you. And when you do, I hope that they will be good thoughts._

…

'You think this is hard? Try infiltrating a military base with a 9mm and one round of bullets! That's hard!' Sue screamed as the Cheerios finished their routine.

The second round of try-outs was on the field after practice that day. Brittany, Santana, Quinn, Mercedes and Kurt waited confidently by the sidelines for practice to finish while Blaine watched from the bleachers.

'We'll be fine guys,' Quinn assured them. 'She needs us if she wants to win nationals with this team.'  
>'Sloppy! You girls are as graceful as a cheap hooker who got hit in the stomach by a fat guy with sores on his face! Hit the showers!' Sue yelled exasperatedly.<br>'You have two groups for try-outs today coach,' Becky said, bringing Sue her clipboard.

Sue looked down at the lists of students trying out and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

'Well, well,' she mumbled. 'Q! Santana! Brittany! Mercedes! Porcelain! On the field now!'

They took their places on the field, awaiting her signal. Sue looked them over curiously, one by one. She especially lingered on Quinn, Santana and Brittany, carefully studying them. She caught herself remembering their first try-out a few years prior, and the look they had had in their eyes then. It was a determined, unyielding look. But today, there was something even more powerful than that in their gazes. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but something had changed. She nodded her head not quite knowing what to expect.

Santana's voice shot across the field like a jolt of lightning as the music kicked off with a bang. The others danced around her as she sang.

_Oh yeah!_  
><em>Bless my soul<br>Titans on a roll_

Quinn and Brittany threw Kurt into the air in one fell swoop and he flipped perfectly in time with the lyrics. Mercedes chimed in energetically.

_People of the week in every school opinion poll_

Quinn joined in, fanning herself for emphasis.

_They are pros_

Santana took the lead and, as she sang her line, the girls dropped onto the ground around Kurt, pretending to faint.

_They could stop a show_

Mercedes sang the next line as Kurt made a series of front flips, flying into the air easily at the end.

_Point them at a monster and you're talking SRO_

They all came together, singing and dancing to the next part. They radiated fun, and cheer. Sue watched them seriously while Becky couldn't help but bob her head.

_No they were no-ones  
>Zeroes, zeroes<br>Now they are honchos  
>They are heroes<em>  
><em>Here are some kids with their act down pat<br>From zeroes to heroes in no time flat  
>Zeroes to heroes <em>

As Kurt sang the last line, he and Mercedes snapped their fingers while the other girls seemingly effortlessly lifted Quinn at the top of a pyramid.

_Just like that  
><em>

They then threw her into the air and she twirled a few times before landing perfectly. They continued singing together with impossibly wide smiles.

_When they smiled  
>The girls went wild with<br>Oohs and aahs_

Mercedes took the next line and led the team into an arrow formation.

_And they slapped their faces  
>On every vase<em>

Santana moved up next to her and shoved her back, correcting her.

_On every "vase"  
><em>

The team came together and moved in perfect sync as they continued. They hit every beat with a different movement easily.

_From appearance fees and royalties  
>Our boys have cash to burn<br>Now nouveaux riches and famous  
>They could tell you<br>What the people earn  
><em>

They comically put their hands together and raised them as Quinn, Brittany and Santana had done so long ago when auditioning for glee club with Say A Little Prayer. Only this time, their performance was much more relaxed, fun, and exuded an amazing feel-good quality.

_Say amen  
>There they go again<br>Sweet and undefeated  
>And an awesome 10 for 10<br>Folks lined up  
>Just to watch them flex<em>

Santana sang the next line as Brittany moved to the front and flexed her arm with a wink.

_And this perfect package  
>Packed some pairs of pretty pecs<br>_

The football team had begun to make its way onto the field and, seeing them, were cheering them on enthusiastically. Kurt and the girls sang louder so as to keep their attention.

_Titans, they come  
>They see, they conquer<br>Honey, the crowds are  
>Going bonkers<br>They showed the moxie, brains, and spunk  
>From zeroes to heroes<em>

Mercedes gestured towards the football players as she sang.

_They're major hunks_

_Zeroes to heroes _

Santana sang above the others as she took the lead.

_And who'd have thunk?_

_Who puts the glad in gladiators?_

She turned her back to Sue and faced her squad. She suggested movements in her questions which they would imitate as they responded.

_The Titans!_

_Whose daring deeds are great theater?  
>The Titans!<br>Are they bold?  
>No one braver<br>Are they sweet?  
>Our favorite flavor<em>

The all cheered together, joined by the football team who whistled and encouraged them.

_Go Titans, go Titans,  
>Go Titans, go Titans<br>Go Titans, go Titans  
><em>

Quinn took Santana's place at the front of the squad and turned towards Sue, leading the squad effortlessly. They flipped and twirled and danced in time with her cues.

_Bless my soul  
>Titans on a roll<br>Undefeated  
>Riding high<br>And the nicest guys  
>Not conceited<em>

They were a nothing  
>Zeroes, zeroes<br>Now they are honchos  
>They're our heroes<p>

They all came together to form a quick pyramid, hoisting Kurt to the top. He jumped and flipped in the air before being caught between Quinn and Santana, who then in turn jumped off of Mercedes and Brittany and onto the floor.

_They hit the heights at breakneck speed  
>From zeroes to heroes<br>Titans are our heroes  
>Now they are our heroes<em>

Their voices ringing across the field made such a joyful sound that it brought a smile to any and everyone who heard them. They formed their arrow formation, Kurt at the front, and all posed for the finished.

_Yes indeed! _

There came a roar of applause from the other side of the field, from Blaine sitting in the bleachers and even Becky who hopped happily. Sue cleared her throat before bringing the megaphone to her mouth. A loud screech echoed through the field and everyone covered their ears quickly with a yelp.

'Ladies! Porcelain! That was...' she began, pausing for dramatic effect as they held their breaths waiting for the verdict, 'positively wonderful.'

Kurt gasped. Santana jumped into Brittany's arms. The blonde spun her girlfriend around happily, but felt an ice cold chill run down her spine when, for a quick second, she caught a glimpse of Travis' intense glare from across the field. Quinn and Mercedes looked at each other, eyes wide and laughing with disbelief.

'Welcome back to the Cheerios!' Sue announced sincerely. Then, turning to Becky, she whispered, 'tell the others to go, our squad is full.'

Becky nodded and ran off to do her bidding.

…

Will knocked hesitantly on the office door. He opened it slowly, trying to prepare for every possible scenario.

'Ah, William. Have a seat,' Sue said calmly.

Will eyed her suspiciously before taking a seat.

'Sue, what's this about?' he asked, keeping his guard up.  
>'Well William, I would like to extend an invitation for your glee club to come perform at Toledo Children's Hospital next Saturday. Now, I realize that my past attempts to destroy you and your precious band of inbreds and social outcasts may have made you a little suspicious of me, but this is a genuine offer.'<p>

Will observed her carefully, but remained quiet. He nodded, calmly urging Sue to continue.

'Since my sister passed, I've been trying to get more involved Will. Remember when you took me to the pediatrics wing of the hospital to get me out of my funk? Well, a few of your glee kids tried out for Cheerios today and, as much as I hate to admit it, they were uplifting. I think those children could use that,' she paused for a moment. Will realized then how difficult for her pride this was to admit. In other circumstances, this may have resulted in him lowering his guard, but old habits die hard.  
>'What's the catch here Sue?' he let out almost automatically.<br>'I'm just trying to turn things around here Will,' she said, sounding tired, 'you can take this offer or reject it, I'll leave it up to you. Let me know when you've decided and I'll give you the rest of the details like directions and what time to get there. Thank you for coming.'

Sue motioned towards the door and Will got up, still in slight shock, and headed out. He paused in the door-frame and turned back towards Sue.

'It's good that you're turning things around Sue. Thanks for the offer. We'll get back to you,' he said sincerely before walking out.

…

Quinn saw Rachel marching angrily from the corner of her eye and sighed in anticipation of what she knew was coming.

'I thought we were friends,' was her dramatic opening.  
>'We are friends, Rach,' Quinn answered with a sigh.<br>'Kurt told me that Mercedes told him that you told her that you are auditioning for the part of Roxy in Chicago!' Rachel rambled quickly.  
>'Rachel,' Quinn responded, modulating her voice carefully, 'I know being in the spotlight means a lot to you, but did you ever think that maybe it means a lot to me too?'<p>

She paused for a moment to let the words sink in. When she saw that Rachel would not interrupt her, she continued.

'Look, I just feel like I'm under a lot of pressure right now with Shelby coming back to town and preparing my college applications and being back on Cheerios and everything and I just,' she sighed with exhaustion, 'I just want to have one thing in my life right now that I do for me. I just want to go after something I want for once. I'm not trying to hurt you, Rach, and I might not even get the part. I just want to audition.'

Rachel looked at her intensely for a moment, but her anger had visibly dissolved.

'When did you re-join Cheerios?' the shorter girl asked a little quietly.

Quinn smiled, closed her locker and linked their arms so they could walk down the hall together.

…

'Britt...' Santana breathed, 'baby, we're gonna be late for glee club...'

The blonde pushed up against her harder and continued to spread loving open-mouthed kissed along her girlfriend's neck. If someone opened the door to the janitor's closet right now, they would find them in a very compromising position. Santana was pressed up firmly against the wall, her legs wrapped around Brittany's waist and her arms thrown over Brittany's shoulders while the blonde held her thighs up. They were both breathing heavily and were very quickly passing the point of no return.

'I want you so bad right now,' Brittany whispered into the latina's ear, 'I miss you, I miss the feel of you. Please baby? Just a quickie? We can be really really quick...'

She leaned her forehead against Santana's and looked into her eyes with desire, but waited for permission. Santana bit her lower lip and considered her. It always surprised her how Brittany could simultaneously be so adorable and still so lustful. She knew that if she said no right now, that that would be the end of it. Brittany wouldn't pressure her or make her feel guilty for denying her. But she could never deny Brittany when she looked at her like that, so she nodded with a smile. The blonde smiled widely back and let Santana down gently. She reverently slid her girlfriend's underwear off before removing her own and quickly leaned down to grab Santana's thighs and resume their previous position. Santana gently moved a stray strand of hair out of Brittany's face and looked into blue eyes tenderly while her other arm wrapped around the blonde's shoulder. Brittany smiled, lifted Santana in one fell swoop and leaned in to kiss her heatedly as she pushed their throbbing wet centers against each other.

Santana moaned into her mouth, trying to be as quiet as possible. Her legs tightened around Brittany's waist in time with the blonde's movements. She felt her entire body curling into Brittany, begging for more of her. Brittany kissed heatedly down to her pulse point and Santana could have sworn she heard the blonde growl possessively. Her nails slid up the blonde's back while her other hand reached off to her side as she desperately tried to hang onto something. Her fingers found a shelf and she latched onto it. Their rhythm quickly escalated and soon Santana was slamming up against the wall so violently that supplies were falling off the shelves around them. One rugged movement later and Santana reached the pinnacle of her ecstasy joined only seconds later by her lover whose name came pouring out from between her lips.

…

'You know, you guys are gonna get caught some day and on that day, I will laugh and say I told you so,' Quinn said knowingly, without even looking up from the book she was reading.

Santana rolled her eyes but couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. She knew the blonde was only trying to distract herself from the stress of seeing Shelby again. And besides, the feeling of Brittany cuddling into her side was enough to make her forgive anything.

'Hey guys! Can I hear a big round of applause for our new co-director, Shelby Corcoran?' Will cheered with enthusiasm.

Everyone applauded willingly and welcomed her warmly. Only Quinn and Puck looked a little weary.

'Hi everyone! Now, I just want to reassure you that I'm not here to make your lives more difficult. Mr Schue and I talked and he told me about the great things that you've all been doing. I'm only here to help you guys develop your potential as much as possible so we can win nationals this year!' she announced.

At that, the students cheered. Shelby's eyes found Quinn and Puck. She nodded at them quickly, giving them both a warm smile.

'Mr Schue, why are we in here instead of in the choir room?' Finn asked a little quietly.  
>'Patience, Finn, I'm sure you're all wondering why we're here today. Well,' Will began to explain, 'there are two reasons. This auditorium, this stage, that April was kind enough to buy for us, is where many of our most magical moments have happened. This auditorium is the hearth of Glee club and I thought it would be the ideal place to invite Shelby to on her first day, to invite her into our little family. The second reason is because I have a project to talk to you all about.'<p>

The idea hung in suspense for a moment. Everyone curious to find out what this was about.

'We've made magic in this room. We've come a long way from where we were two years ago. I want you all to be proud of that, but I also want you to take the time to remember that magic,' he continued.  
>'It's time to remember the magic,' Brittany sang in a quiet whisper.<br>'Exactly,' Will replied, pointing to her to everyone's surprise. 'Sue has invited us to perform at Toledo Children's Hospital next Saturday. If you all agree, I'd like us to accept and do our best to inspire these kids the best way we know how: by singing them songs of hope, endurance, and fun. I want us to remind them that life can be magical, and I think the best way to do that is to sing them the most magical songs we know. I want us to sing them the songs of our own childhoods.' He paused, giving them all a moment to think about his proposal. Most of them nodded in approval and smiled. 'I know that many of you are auditioning for Chicago this week, so I'm not going to make this mandatory. BUT, I encourage those of you who have the time to participate. Also because we have so much on our plates this week, I am letting you guys out early today! So I will see you all tomorrow and hopefully, some of you will have prepared numbers for us!'

With that, everyone began to make their way out of the room, excited about being let out early for once (except for Rachel who looked disappointed). Quinn and Puck nervously followed Shelby out of the room while Brittany interlaced her fingers with her girlfriend's and headed out. They had almost reached their lockers when she abruptly stopped, interrupting Santana's rant about the music of her childhood being mostly in Spanish.

'I totally forgot my backpack in the auditorium! I'll meet you in the parking lot ok ? I'm just gonna run and get it,' Brittany quickly explained.  
>'Oh, I can come with you, it's no big deal,' Santana offered.<br>'That's ok, I'll just be a second. If you want you could grab my books for tonight though. That would be really great.'  
>'Alright sure, no problem,' Santana agreed, visibly glad to help out. 'See you in a minute! Kiss.'<p>

Brittany leaned in and kissed her briefly before quickly heading back to the auditorium.

…

As she approached the double doors of the auditorium, Brittany felt strange. A sort of curious presentiment. She had been feeling that way all day, as though something important was about to happen. At first she believed it might have been Cheerios try-outs, but the feeling persisted. Her attempts at distraction had lead her to drag Santana into the janitor's closet before Glee club meeting, but still, she felt as though something was calling out to her. As she quietly pushed the doors open, lost in her thoughts, a soft melody shook her out of her own mind.

Sugar was sitting on the stage by herself, cradling the locket she usually wore around her neck in her hands. She gazed sadly at what Brittany assumed was a picture inside and, to the blonde's astonishment, she began to sing.

_All I have is a picture in my mind how it would be_  
><em>If we were together<em>  
><em>Let's pretend that you're far away, let's say you write to me<em>  
><em>And you promise in your letter<em>

_That you'll come home, come home to my heart_  
><em>When you come home, we'll never be apart<em>  
><em>If I keep dreaming of you, start believing it's true<em>

_Soon you'll come home_  
><em>Soon you'll come home<em>  
><em>Soon you'll come home to my heart<em>

Brittany quietly began to walk down the steps. Sugar's voice quivered with sadness, but it wasn't off-pitch as it had been during her audition. The whole scene was odd. And that locket...it was familiar somehow. Although she couldn't place it in that moment, she was certain that it was not only an object that she recognized, but that it was important.

_Soon you'll come home_  
><em>Home to my heart<em>  
><em>Soon you'll come home<em>  
><em>Home to my heart<em>  
><em>If I believe<em>

Brittany's next step made a sound that echoed across the auditorium. Sugar's head shot up in surprise.

'I'm sorry,' the blonde apologized, 'I forgot my bag so I came back to get it. I didn't mean to interrupt.' She paused looking down at the locket. 'What's that?'  
>'It's nothing!' Sugar answered quickly, shoving it in her pocket. 'It's private.'<br>'Oh...did someone give it to you or something?' For some reason, Brittany felt it was the right thing to ask. Sugar stared at her silently for a moment, hesitating.  
>'It was my mother's...' she began in a small voice. 'She gave it to me before she died.'<p>

At the words, Brittany felt something catch in her throat.

'I'm so sorry...I...What was that song you were singing?' Brittany asked softly. 'It's weird but it sounded really familiar, like...like a memory from a dream.'

Sugar's eyes softened, and she smiled.

'It's from a really old movie. My momma used to sing it to me as a lullaby, she said she used to sing it to herself and wish for me.'

Before she could say anything else, Brittany felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Santana's text.

'I have to go but, I'll see you tomorrow ok?' she told Sugar as she went to get her bag.  
>'Yeah of course! See you tomorrow m-' Sugar suddenly coughed. 'Uh, ca-catch you later Brittany.'<p>

…

'I hear Mike is trying out for the part of Billy Flynn too,' Quinn mentioned.  
>'I'm not really worried about that. I mean, he can dance but we all know he can't really sing,' Kurt ventured.<br>'Besides, Kurt and I have been practicing _a lot_. There is no way we are not getting those parts,' Mercedes confirmed.  
>'Are you trying out for a part?' Rory asked Blaine curiously.<br>'No, I'm still trying to get used to everything at McKinley. I don't want to try and do too many things at once,' Blaine answered.

They were all huddled around a pool of snacks in their pjs in Brittany's basement. The blonde had invited them all over to hang out and meet Rory. She wasn't quite following the conversation though, distracted by what had happened in the auditorium earlier. A part of her wished she had talked to Santana about it in the car on their way over, but she couldn't help but think that maybe the whole thing was just a little bit crazy.

'Britt, honey, are you ok?' Santana asked worriedly, bringing Brittany back from her inner-debate.  
>'Yeah, can I talk to you for a minute?' she answered, pulling Santana up the stairs by the arm.<p>

Once they were both gone, the others looked around at each other in an uncomfortable silence.

'Well that was hella aaaawkward...' Mercedes pointed out, instantly bringing a smile to all of their faces.

…

'Hey, come on Britt, talk to me,' Santana cooed. 'What's wrong?'

She rubbed Brittany's arms and kissed her nose gently, sensing her worry. That's when the blonde saw it.

'Britta-'  
>'What's that?' Brittany cut her off suddenly, startling her.<br>'This?' Santana answered, looking down at her locket. 'My grandmother gave me this a long time ago.'

The blonde gently examined the heart-shaped jewel. She soon found the tiny latch on the side and opened it. Her heart was beating so loudly that it was all she could hear. Santana watched her nervously. Brittany's mouth fell open slightly when she saw that Santana had placed a photo of both of them inside. However, to her relief, the locket did not play that same melody she had heard earlier.

'I'm not sure what I was expecting...' Brittany mumbled to herself.  
>'Britt what's going on? You're kind of freaking me out right now,' Santana asked.<br>'I'm fine,' Brittany quickly tried to reassure her. 'It was just kind of a long day.'  
>'Ok,' Santana said, still skeptical. 'So, what did you want to tell me honey?'<p>

_It was my mother's...She gave it to me before she died._

'You are so precious to me,' Brittany answered. 'I love you so much and I just... I just wanted to tell you that right now.'

She closed the distance between them and wrapped Santana in her arms, kissing her with as much love and passion as she knew how.


End file.
